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MISSION TO ENGLAND 



MISSION TO ENGLAND, 



IN BEHALF OF THE 



AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 



f: 



BY R. R. GURLEY. 



WASHINGTON. 
PUBLISHED BYWM. W. MORRISON, 

PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. 

1841. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1541, by William W. 
Morrison, in the District Court of the District of Columbia. 






ALEXANDER &. BARNARD, 

Priiiten. 



THE FRIENDS OF AFRICAN 



COLONIZATION AND CIVILIZATION, 



THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN, 



THIS WORK 



IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 



THE AUTHOR 



CONTENTS. 



Origin of the Mission, p. 1—5. Resolutions of New York Society, 6. Of Di- 
rectors of Parent Society, 8. Commission from the President, Mr. Clay, 9. In- 
structions of Executive Committee, 10 — 11. Arrival in London, 13. Author's 
first, second and third letters to the Executive Committee, containing an account of 
conferences vfith Mr. Buxton, and asking instructions on sundry points, 13 — 25. 
First communication received from Executive Committee, and reply thereto, 26 — 
30. JVext letter from United States, and replies thereto, 31 — 33. Q,uestion in 
regard to an attempt to revive the British African Colonization Society, 35. Fourth 
letter to Executive Committee, 36 — 37. Interview with Anti-Slavery Committee^ 
erroneous impressions made on the mind of Mr, Clarksou, and extract from the 
author's letter to that gentleman, 38 — 44. Visit to Glasgow during the session of 
the British Association, 44. To Edinburgh, 46 — 47. Communications from the 
New York Society, and from the Executive Committee of the Parent Society, 47 
— 49. Author's reply and remarks thereon, 50 — 57. Correspondence with Sir 
T. F. Buxton, .58 — 88. Interview with the General Committee of the African 
Civilization Society, 89. Letter relating to this interview, to the Hon. H. Clay, 
90 — 94. Second letter to Mr. Clay, in regard to interview with Lord John Rus- 
sell, 95— 98. Lectures and debate in Egyptian Hall, 99 — 107. Author learua 
from a friend that he is no longer connected with the American Colonization So- 
ciety, 108. Remarks on a passage in the annual report of the Executive Commit- 
tee, 109 — 111. Conduct of the Times newspaper; author's letters to that and to 
the Morning Post, 111 — 120. Letter to the editor of the London Patriot, 121 — 
139. Letter of the author, (published in England,) to Hon. Henry Clay and Sir 
T. F. Buxton, 140 — 195. Proposition to form a Colonization and Civilization 
Committee, 196. Reasons against it, 196 — 197. Account of the African Civiliza- 
tion Society, 197 — 203. Niger Expedition, 203 — 220. Causes operating against 
a cordial co-operation with the American Colonization Society, 221, 234. Final 
impressions, 234 — 235. Proceedings of public meeting in Hanover Rooms, Lon- 
don, 235—238. Appendix, Facts, 239—264, 



PREFACE. 



Although in the statement here submitted to the public, 
I have not attempted to render due acknowledgments for 
great kindness and aid received from individuals, both in 
this country and Great Britain, yet I cannot permit the 
work to go forth without some expression of my sense 
of the liberality of the Managers of the New York Soci- 
ety, in their appropriation for the mission, and also of 
the generosity with which several philanthropic Ameri- 
cans contributed individually to sustain it.* 

Nor can I ever forget my obligations to those in Eng- 
land and Scotland, who rendered the time spent in those 
countries, among the most delightful periods of my life. 
I have seen and felt enough (notwithstanding the general 
unpopularity of the cause I represented,) of the candour, 
integrity, courtesy, and hospitality of the English people, 
to make me deprecate, even beyond what it is possible to 
express, the growth of unfriendly sentiments between 
them and the citizens of the United States. It is the duty 
of all good men in both countries to cultivate mutual 
confidence as well as forbearance, and to become united 
in the covenant of perpetual peace. Let one thousand 
of our best citizens annually visit Great Britain, and an 
equal number of high minded Englishmen annually come 
to America, to hold social intercourse with our people, 
and the two nations will never rush together in conflict. 

* See Appendix, page 264. 



X PREFACE. 

A distinguished American, Junius Smith, L. L. D., now 
residing in London, and to whose ability, energy and 
perseverance the nations are indebted for the triumphant 
appHcation of steam to ship navigation, deserves (like 
the immortal Fulton,) to be honored by a statue in every 
civilized state and kingdom of the world; unless, in- 
deed, (which Heaven forbid, and we will not believe,) 
the malignant passions of our nature are to become more 
furious by all that should allay them, and convert the 
occasions and means of charity and beneficence into 
agents and instruments of destruction. I should feel my- 
self guilty alike of ingratitude and injustice, did I per- 
mit this opportunity to pass without alluding, briefly, to 
several gentlemen in England whose good counsels and 
cheerful and obliging attentions are indelibly impressed 
on my heart. 

To Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who is emphatically the 
friend of the whole human race, I am indebted for a 
series of kind acts, extending through the entire period of 
my stay, and set off by an admirable simplicity and grace 
of manner which is as impossible to forget as to describe. 
To Joseph Travers, Esq., who is ever devoted to the 
cause of human freedom and happiness, and of whose 
high sense of honor, courtesy and liberality I had much 
experience, my thanks are especially due. 

Benjamin Smith, Esq., M. P., ever engaged in w orks of 
national or philanthropic interest, who suggested and 
urged forward the plan for effectually ventilating the 
ships in the Niger expedition, was ready, at all times, to 
afford me, in the most polite a nd obliging manner, his 
good counsels and aid. 

Petty Vaughan, Esq., and his venerable uncle, William 
Vaughan, Esq., who are well known throughout this 



PREFACE. XI 

country for their benevolent exertions, and innumerable 
acts of kindness to Americans, are entitled to my warmest 
gratitude. 

Daniel Lister, Esq., presided many evenings at the 
meetings in Egyptian Hall, and by the generous expendi- 
ture of time, thought and money in furtherance of the 
object of my mission, proved himself not less zealous in 
the cause of humanity, than distinguished for hospitality 
and all the virtues of social life. 

Robert Bell, Esq., who has won a high reputation in 
the world of letters, (particulary by his history of Russia, 
and his lives of the English poets,) and whose heart is as 
warm and generous as ever beat in an Irish bosom, spared 
no pains to promote my object. 

Dr. Costello, a gentlemen of fine talents and noble 
spirit, rendered me much aid. Nor should I omit the 
name of A. B. Wright, Esq., ever disposed to further my 
views, and whose rare good sense, energy and benevo- 
lence, are opening before him the path of honor and use- 
fulness. 

George Catlin, Esq., who has secured a lasting reputa- 
tion by the wonderful genius and energy displayed in 
his extraordinary collection of Indian costumes and por- 
traits, evinced a deep concern for my success, and with a 
noble disinterestedness belonging to his character, afforded 
me every aid in his power. 

I am also under obligations to Junius Smith, L. L. D., 
Thomas Campbell, L. L. D., (the poet,) Messrs. A. & G. 
Ralston, the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, the Rev. Dr. 
Burder, of Hackney, the Rev. John Clayton, of the Poul- 
trey Chapel, the Rev. J. N. Coleman, of the Isle of Wight, 
the Rev. Algernon Wells, Secretary of the Congregational 
Union, also to Dr. Wm. Beattie, (author of several works,) 



XU PREFACE. 

Sir James Clarke, (well known in the medical world,) to 
Henry Inskip, Esq.,(of the press,) Mr. Stirling, S. Bannister, 
Esq., (Editor of the African Colonizer,) and many others. 
Indeed, it is impossible for me here to speak in appropri- 
ate terms, of the many personal civilities received in Eng- 
land, or of the generous and hospitable attentions of many 
friends in Scotland, to whom I am bound by indissoluble 
ties of gratitude, respect, and affection. The hope that I 
shall again see them warms my heart, nor can I cease to 
pray that Heaven's choicest blessings may be theirs. 

It will be seen that such was the state of the public 
mind in England towards the American Colonization 
Society, as to render any application for funds injudicious, 
as it probably would have proved, mostly, unsuccessful. 
But far distant be the day, when English and American Chris- 
tians shall hesitate to co-operate in such enterprises of be- 
nevolence as are of undoubted benefit to the human race. 
When I consider the well established settlements of 
Liberia; the sympathy of thousands of my country- 
men in the cause of Africa and her dispersed and afflicted 
children ; the prosperous missions recently commenced 
upon her shore by Christians of this and other lands ; 
the mighty movement of Great Britain for her civiliza- 
tion, and how obviously the Almighty is summoning his 
agents for her deliverance, from among her own sons, 
released from servitude, and trained up in the schools of 
Christianity to become her teachers and guides, I cannot 
doubt, that the shades of her long night are vanishing 
away, and that the day-star is soon to arise in her heart. 



MISSION TO ENGLAND. 



Public attention, both in America and England, was 
attracted strongly, during the early part of last year, to a 
work by Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, on the slave trade 
and its remedy. The distinguished reputation of the 
author, long the intimate associate of Wilberforce in the 
war upon the slave trade, and subsequently a leader in 
Parliament for the cause of West Indian emancipation, 
as well as the remarkable developments and propositions 
of the work itself, gave to it extraordinary interest. The 
fact brought to light, that while Great Britain alone had 
expended more than fifteen millions of pounds sterling 
for the suppression of the slave trade, and made a still 
greater sacrifice in the loss of human life, this traffic had 
])een increasing, and with augmented guilt and misery — 
that Africa was robbed thereby, annually, of half a mil- 
lion of her inhabitants, a moiety of whom perished either 
in capture or before the close of the first year — was 
so appalling as to excite the deepest sensibilities of our 
nature. The remedy proposed by Sir Thomas for this 
enormous evil, appeared to many of the friends of the 
African race in the United States to involve, generally, 
the principles and policy which had for twenty years 
been adopted and pursued by the American Colonization 
Society. From its origin, in the various speeches, re- 
ports, and other publications of this society, the extinc- 
1 



2 MISSIOX. 

tion of the slave trade by the colonization of Africa, was 
represented as the sure and grand result of its wisely 
conducted and vigorously sustained system of coloniza- 
tion. " It M'as expected that the operations of the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society would unfetter and invigorate 
the faculties, improve the circumstances, animate the 
hopes, and enlarge the usefulness of the free people of 
color ; that by aw^akening thought, nullifying objections, 
presenting motives convincing to the judgment, and pur- 
suasive to the humanity of masters, they would encour- 
age emancipation ; that in Africa their results Avould he 
seen, in civilized and christian communities, in the sub- 
stitution of a lawful and beneficial commerce for the 
abominable slave trade, of peaceful agi'iculture for a pre- 
datory w^arfare, knowledge for ignorance, the arts that 
refine for vices that degrade, and for superstitions vile, 
cruel and blood-stained, the ennobling service and pure 
worship of the true God. It was believed that the fel- 
lowship of the north with the south, in African coloni- 
zation, would tend powerfully to produce just opinions 
on the subject of slavery, and prepare for the removal of 
the evil without endangering the integrity and peace of 
the Union. It was clear that the principles and measures 
of the society interfered not with those who desired to 
meliorate the condition of the people of color, bond or 
free, who might remain in our country, but in fact con- 
tributed to produce those kind and considerate sentiments 
towards both, which alone can admit them to all tlie pri- 
vileges possible, while here ami denied a distinct nation- 
al existence. But the founders of the society saw not 
*^by what authority we could limit the Almighty, and 
' tie down the destiny of the colored people to a condi- 

*Dr. Beecher. 



RESOLUTIONS AT NEW YORK. S 

' tion SO low, or why they should be satisfied with it 
' compared with the blessings of nationality.' "* 

Having examined, attentively, the work of Sir T. F. 
Buxton, I was equally impressed and delighted by the 
scheme therein submitted to the people and Government 
of England, and at a public meeting held in the middle 
Dutch Church of the city of New York, the 28th of 
May, 1840, I presented a brief outline of the plan, 
stated the most striking facts that enforced its necessity 
and importance, and offered the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That this meeting has heard with high gra- 
tification of the measures proposed by the Hon. Thomas 
Fowell Buxton for the suppression of the slave trade and 
the civilization of Africa, by the development of her vast 
agricultural and commercial resources, and the intellect- 
ual and moral elevation of her people on their own ter- 
ritory, through the agency of the Government, and the 
humane and Christian exertions of the people of Eng- 
land. 

Resolved, That the scheme of Mr. Buxton, which re- 
ceives the sanction of the English Government, if prose- 
cuted on the truly philanthropic principles by which it 
is guarded in Mr. Buxton's work, is in accordance with 
the views of the founders and supporters of the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society in its great features, and is of 
magnificent promise to Africa and her children through- 
out the world, and worthy to be carried into effect by 
the united powers of Christendom. 

Resolv ed, That the noble example of the British Go- 
vernment, in preparing, at great expense, to strengthen 
her naval force on the African coast, and to explore the 

* Life of Ashmuii. 



4 MISSION. 

Niger and other great rivers of Africa, is worthy of imi- 
tation by the Government of our own country, and that 
we recommend to the friends of Africa, to address the 
Congress of the United States, soliciting their effectual 
co-operation in the great work of suppressing the slave 
trade, and raising the population of Africa to prosperity 
and respect among the nations of the world. 

Resolved^ That in view of the evidence presented in 
the work of Mr. Buxton, of the great resources, agricul- 
tural and commercial, of Africa, there is reason to be- 
lieve that companies formed in the United States, for the 
cultivation of the soil, or to prosecute lawful commerce 
with the people of Africa, would be amply rewarded for 
their exertions, while they conferred good incalculable 
upon a suffering and barbarous quarter of the globe. 

Resolved, That in the opening prospects of civiliza- 
tion, free institutions and Christianity in Africa, her long 
exiled children are encouraged to return, that they may 
have the honor of aiding to heal her wounds, and rescue 
her from disgrace ; and at the same time share in the 
blessings which she, once freed from her present evils, is 
destined to confer upon her inhabitants in coming times. 

Resolved, That it should be deeply impressed upon 
our hearts, that America is bound especially to send to 
Africa free institutions, and men capable of maintaining 
them — gifts more valuable than all others, except Chris- 
tianity, which, in union Avith other Christian nations, we 
should be most prompt and anxious to impart to her su- 
perstitious and long degraded inhabitants. 

On this occasion several gentlemen of the New York 
Colonization Society responded eloquently to the senti- 
ments of these resolutions. The measures proposed by 
Sir T. F. Buxton, and which had already been sanction- 
ed by the British Government, indicated to many of the 



SUGGESTIOxXS COx\CERNING MISSION. O 

friends of Africa in the United States, a mighty change 
of opinion in the English mind, and gave omen of a new 
and vast movement to deliver that quarter of the globe 
li-om barbarism, the slave trade, and slavery, and intro- 
duce it to the immunities and honors of civilized nations. 
Several distinguished friends of the Colonization Society 
thought it important that some gentleman, well acquaint- 
ed with the views and proceedings of that institution, 
should be commissioned to visit England, and confer 
with the chairman and committee of the African Civili- 
zation Society, (which had just been organised to exe- 
cute the scheme recommended by Sir T. F. Buxton,) and 
among those who most zealously expressed this opinion 
M'as the chairman of the Executive Committee of the 
Parent Colonization Society, with several prominent 
members of the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- 
vania Societies. 

As the subject of a mission to England, it was said, 
had been unfavorably received by the Directors at their 
annual meeting in January, 1840, the chairman of the 
Executive Committee of those Directors desired that the 
mission should be carried into effect solely by the autho- 
rity, and at the expense, of one or more State societies. 
The result of many deliberations and conversations 
among the friends of African Colonization, in regard to 
this mission, is embodied in the following resolutions, 
submitted on the 12th of June, 1840, to the Directors of 
tlie American Colonization Society.* We quote from 
the minutes : 

* The members present were Messrs. Halsted, Mason, Clark, 
Williams, Wilkeson, Phelps, Garland, Gurle}^ (Secretaiy ;) of the 
Executive Committee, Messrs. Garland, Coxe, Lindsley, and 
Seaton. 

1* 



6 MISSION. 

'••The following communication and resolutions from 
the New York city Colonization Society, and which have 
been adopted by the Pennsylvania Society, were submit- 
ted, and ordered to be placed on the records of the 
Board : 

" At a meeting of the Board of the New^ York city 
Colonization Society, the following resolutions were 
adopted : 

'■' Resolved, That m the view of the important measures 
now in prosecution in Great Britain, in relation to the 
suppression of the slave trade, and the civilization of Af- 
rica, this Board believe that it would be highly useful to 
send a delegate to England, for the purpose of receiving 
information of the proceedings about to be pursued, and 
of ascertaining how far the friends of African coloniza- 
tion in this country may co-operate in the benevolent 
design. 

" Resolved, That it be respectfully "suggested to the 
Executive Committee of the American Colonization So- 
ciety, at Washington, either to make an appointment of 
such a delegate, or if tliey arc of opinion that it ought 
to be done by the Board of Directors of that institution, 
to call a meeting of said Board for that purpose. 

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this Board the 
Rev. R. R. Gurley, from his long connection with the 
Parent Society, his intimate acquaintance with every thing 
relating to the colonization cause, his great engagedness 
in its promotion, and his peculiar talents and facilities of 
communicating on the subject, would be peculiarly lilted 
for such a mission, and that he be very respectfully re- 
commended by this Board for said appointment. 

" Resolved, That in the event of his appointment, it be 
also respectfully recommended that the salary which he 



REMARKS BEFORE DIRECTORS, / 

now receives as Secretary be continued, and that this 
Board will be responsible for his necessary travelling ex- 
penses, provided that any contributions he may receive 
while abroad be considered applicable to the reimburse- 
ment of what may be advanced or paid by this Board on 
that account." 

As these resolutions had been entrusted to me by their 
authors, with a request that I would communicate them 
to the Directors, when about to be taken up for conside- 
ration, I rose, and (according to my best recollection,) 
expressed a conviction of the great value of the facts 
and suggestions contained in the work of Sir T. F. Bux- 
ton — that the plan urged by him upon the reason and 
conscience of England was similar to that of the Colo- 
nization Society — that mutual good understanding and 
co-operation between the philanthropists of America and 
England, in their endeavors for the civilization of Afri- 
ca, was desirable — that the hostility of the anti-slavery 
organizations would prove great, if not insurmountable 
obstacles to union — that the Abolitionists of this coun- 
try had anxiously, and probably with success, sought to 
gain the respect and confidence of the English people — 
that, though I believed the proposed mission might be 
useful, I had little expectation of great immediate results, 
far less of large pecuniary contributions — that, ordina- 
rily, the prejudices planted in the mind of a great nation 
were not easily or suddenly removed, nor its sentiments 
but gradually and slowly changed — and, finally, that in 
view of the uncertainties and difficulties which must in- 
evitably encompass him who should represent and advo- 
cate in England the cause of African colonization, I must 
say, emphatically, (however agreeable the anticipations of 
a visit to that country might otherwise be,) that I could 



8 



MISSION". 



feel no strong desire for the appointment. Indeed, I was 
distrustful of my own judgment in regard to the policy 
of the mission, and, though cherishing hope of great 
final benefit should it be prosecuted with prudence and 
energy, I was happy that it rested with the Directors either 
to sanction or reject it. The following resolutions, 
offered by Mr. Coxe, were, after I had retired, considered 
and adopted : 

" Resolved^ That this Board has received with feelings 
of great respect, the resolutions and proceedings of the 
Colonization Societies of New York and Pennsylvania, 
in reference to the appointment of an agent or commis- 
sioner on behalf of the American Colonization Society, 
to proceed to England, for the purpose of promoting the 
interests of the great cause of African civilization and 
improvement. 

" Resolved^ That in the opinion of this Board events 
which have recently transpired in England present the 
most encouraging prospects to the friends of Africa, and 
that it is highly important that measures should be 
promptly taken to assure harmonious action among 
those who profess to be animated by the same spirit, and 
actuated by the same motives. 

'^ Resolved, That the Rev. R. R. Gurley, correspond- 
ing secretary of the American Colonization Society, be, 
and he is hereby authorized to proceed to England, with 
all convenient despatch, with general discretionary pow- 
ers, under the instructions from the Executive Commit- 
tee, to communicate to the friends of African civilization 
in that country, the policy and views of this society, to 
collect such information as may be valuable, to cement a 
friendly understanding and co-operation, and to lay the 
foundation of an effective and harmonious action in the 



COMMISSION BY MR. CLAY. 9 

promotion of the benevolent objects which the friends 
of Africa on both sides of the Atlantic have at heart." 

The substance of these resolutions is embodied in the 
following letter or commission, prepared and placed in 
my hands by Mr. Clay, the President of the society : 

"Be it known to all persons whom it may concern 
that the Rev. R. R. Gurley, secretary of the American 
Colonization Society, has been appointed, by resolutions 
of the directors thereof, an agent to proceed to England 
to promote the interests of the said society ; to explain 
and enforce its objects ; to remove prejudices against it ; 
to communicate with the friends of African colonization 
and African civilization in Great Britain; to conciliate 
public opinion in that kingdom towards the American 
Colonization Society ; to collect all useful and valuable 
information in respect to the design and exertions of hu- 
mane and benevolent associations and individuals to ele- 
vate the moral and physical condition of Africa ; and, 
generally, to Cement the friendship and secure harmony 
and co-operation between the friends of Africa in Eng- 
land and the United States, in the great and good work 
of introducing civilization and Christianity into that 
quarter of the globe. And the said R. R. Gurley, agent as 
aforesaid, is to act in conformity with instructions which 
may have been, or hereafter shall be given to him, by the 
aforesaid directors, in the execution of his agency afore- 
said, and to make a full report of his proceedings to them. 

" In testimony of the said appointment, for the pur- 
poses aforesaid, I, Henry Clay, President of the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society, in virtue of the resolutions 
aforesaid, have hereunto affixed my name, and caused 
the seal of the said society to be attached, at Washing- 
ton, this 20th day of June, 1840. 

H. CLAY." 



10 MISSION. 

I wds informed by the chairman of the Board and 
other members, that four months had been mentioned, 
during their deliberations, as a period which might pro- 
bably prove sufficient for effecting the objects of the 
mission, but as this could be known only after my arri- 
val in England, the time was left indeterminate until I 
might be able to communicate something of my obser- 
vations and prospects to the society. 

Some weeks had elapsed between the time when the 
New York society had assumed the responsibility of de- 
fraying the expenses of this mission, and the passage of 
resolutions by the Directors of the Parent Board, giving 
to it their authority. It was, in consequence, (and espe- 
cially as I was requested to visit Boston after my ap- 
pointment, and before my embarkation,) impossible to 
arrive in London before the adjournment of the great 
anti-slavery convention. 

It will be observed that this agency or commission 
was to be held under instructions from the Executive 
Committee, and on leaving Washington to proceed, as 
directed, " with all convenient despatch" to the perform- 
ance of its duties, I was assured that such instructions 
would be duly transmitted to me at New York. 

On the morning of my embarkation, I received the 
following resolution from the Executive Committee : 

"At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
American Colonization Society, held at the office, June 
29th, 1840, 

" Resolved^ That the Rev. R. R. Guriey, Secretary of 
the American Colonization Society, on arriving in Eng- 
land, be requested to communicate with such individuals 
or associations as may be able to give official information 
of the intentions of the British Government in carrying 



INSTRUCTIOxVS OP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 11 

out the recently disclosed plans, relative to Western Af- 
rica — of making treaties for acquiring jurisdiction of the 
coast or country — urging them to abstain from all that 
part of the coast lying between Gallinas or Cape Mount, 
on the north, and the river Assinee on the east — repre- 
senting to them the present prosperous condition of our 
colony, and the importance of a large section of coun- 
try to which the colored population of the United States 
may emigrate, and by tlieir example and industry im- 
prove the surrounding natives : — 

" To assure the persons with whom he may commu- 
nicate, of the disposition of the American Colonization 
Society, and the ability of the Colonial Government, to 
suppress the slave trade within their jurisdiction : to ex- 
plain the elevating influence of colonization on the co- 
lored people of this country ; and the general principles 
on which this society is founded. 

" To ascertain the disposition and purpose of indivi- 
duals connected with the Association for civilizing Afri- 
ca, towards the American Colonization Society, and to 
receive donations in aid, and on behalf, of said society.'"* 

The following note, from the Chairman, accompanied 
the preceding resolution, arid bore the same date : 

*■'' The Executive Committee of the American Coloni- 
zation Society would advise that, in visiting England as 
agent of said society, and in your communications and 
correspondence with the projectors of the African Civili- 
zation Society, their oflicers, or persons representing 
them, or any other society or association — you confine 
yourself to presenting the principles and objects of the 
American Colonization Society, and the ascertainment of 
the objects of their association, so far as relates to any 
interference with the jurisdiction of the country from 



12 MISSION. 

Cape Mount to tlie river Assinee; and expressing the 
wishes of this society that no settlements or purchases 
of territory may be made, or any other kind of interfer- 
ence witli the natives within the limits above named. 

*•' As to further details, my former letters to you will 
give my views of such matters as may be important in 
relation to trade.* 

" Please inform me where to address you in England." 
It may be imagined that I felt some regret at the very 
limited views of the Committee, exhibited in these in- 
structions, transmitted at the very moment of my depart- 
ure \ but I was disposed to think considerations of pru- 
dence might have induced them to wait for ampler in- 
formation of the state of public opinion in England, and 
particularly of the sentiments and purposes of the Afri- 
can Civilization Society, before .proposing any specific 
measures which might tend to unite by friendly ties, and 
in offices of reciprocal advantage, the friends of Africa 
in that country and the United States. I had no oppor- 
tunity, at that late hour, to communicate with the gen- 
tlemen of the Committee, and the commission held from 
the President of the society authorized me to conciliate, 
as far as practicable, by expositions and explanations of 
the views of the Colonization Society, the regards of the 
English friends of Africa, as well as to seek, by confer- 
ence with the African Civilization Society, and other 
kindred associations, an exact knowledge of their princi- 
ples, and the methods and means by which they would 
accomplish their objects. 

* These letters were unofficial, and containing some suggestions 
of value in regard to acquiring information on the subject of the 
African trade, but conferring no authority to enter into negotia- 
tions on any one subject. 



' FIRST LETTER TO COMMITTEE. 13 

Having sailed from New York on the 1st of July, I 
arrived in London near the close of the same month. I 
sought, without delay, an interview with Dr. Thomas 
Hodgkin, a gentleman well known to me and all intelli- 
gent friends of the Colonization Society, not only for his 
general philanthropy, but for the unremitting energy and 
ability with which he has publicly, and for many years, 
defended the character of the society and Liberia against 
a host of fierce opponents, and received from him the 
kindest welcome, and cordial assurances of all such co- 
operation and aid as it might be possible for him to afford. 

The following is my first letter to the Committee of 
the American Colonization Society. I omit a single para- 
graph originating in a false report of the murder of Go- 
vernor Buchanan. 

"London, July 31, 1840. 
" To the Executive Committee of the 

American Colonization Society: 

"Gentlemen : A kind Providence has brought me in 
health and safety to this great metropolis of the world. 
The voyage was completed in about twenty-six days, 
and I arrived here from Portsmouth on the 28th, having 
in company of the Rev. Mr. Sparks, passed a day at 
Winchester, and another at Salisbury, on our way. 

" I have received the most kind and gratifying atten- 
tions from Mr. Ralston and Mr. Vaughan, both formerly 
citizens of the United States, and deeply interesteH in the 
cause of African colonization. 

" Mr. Buxton is absent, for two or three days, from 

the city, but from interviews with Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, 

(one of our earliest and best friends in this country,) 

and Mr. McQueen, (whose name appears in Mr. Buxton's 

2 



14 MISSION. 

work,) both of tliem members of the African Civiliza^ 
tion Committee, I indulge the hope that my visit at this 
time will be productive of benefit to the cause. 

" Dr. Hodgkin thinks the time propitious, and suggests 
that Mr. Buxton and the Anti-slavery Society are not al- 
together harmonious. 

"The Anti-slavery Convention, I am informed, was 
large, and the American delegates took occasion, not only 
to cast reproach upon their own country, but also to at- 
tack with vehemence the American Colonization Society. 
Dr. Hodgkin stood forth, on that occasion, as the warm 
and decided advocate of the Colonization Society. There 
can be little doubt that Messrs. Birney and Stanton ar€ 
doing much to strengthen the already strong prejudice 
existing in the English mind against the United States. 

" By the next conveyance I hope to be able to report 
intelligence which will be of interest to the committee, 
and also to transmit some documents in relation to the 
late anti-slavery movements in this country. What I 
can do, to correct error and misrepresentation, shall be 
done. 1 have strong hope that the mighty energies of 
England, as well as of America, will be mainly directed 
to the elevation of the colored race, by the civilization 
of Africa. 

" Gentlemen, 

" With the greatest respect and regard, 

" Your friend and obedient servant, 
(Signed,) «R. R. GURLEY." 

The following letter to the Executive Committee, was 
written immediately after my introduction to Lord Bexley, 
and my earliest interview with Sir T. F. Buxton, chair- 
man of the Committee of the African Civilization Society : 



SECOND LETTER TO COMMITTEE. 15 

" London, August 17, 1840. 
'' To the Executive Committee of the 

• American Colonization Society: 

"Gentlemen : In my first brief communication after 
my arrival in this city, I mentioned, if I mistake not, that 
I had enjoyed several interviews with that excellent and 
long tried friend of the Colonization Society, Dr. Hodg- 
kin, by whom I had been introduced to Lord Bexley.* 
Dr. Hodgkin is a very intelligent member of the Society 
of Friends — has published several able pamphlets in de- 
fence of the Colonization Society and of Liberia — is 
deeply interested in the objects of my mission, and dis- 
posed to aid, by every possible means, in their accom- 
plishment. He came before the Anti-slavery Convention 
to sustain the cause of Afi*ican colonization against at- 
tacks made there upon it, and has prepared for publica- 
tion a letter to the American delegates to that convention, 
expressive of the reasons for his attachment to the Colo- 
nization Society, and comprising very valuable testimony 
in regard to the condition, influence, and prospects of 
the colony of Liberia. 

" My interview with Lord Bexley was at the moment 
he was about to embark for the continent ; he received 
me, however, with great kindness, said that the objects 
of the Colonization and Civilization Societies were very 
similar, and informed me by a note, after I left him, that 
he should hope for a further conference after his return 
to England. 

" An interview with Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, ow- 
ing to his absence from London, could not be obtained 
until within the last four days. On Friday, I was invited 

*This is an error. The introduction was from Mr. Vaughan. 



16 MISSION. 

to dine with him, in company with Dr. Hodgkin, Capt. 
Trotter, (who is to command the expedition to the Ni- 
ger,) and several other gentlemen, at Upton, the seat of 
Samuel Gurney, a wealthy banker, and distinguished 
member of the Society of Friends. Mr. Buxton read 
my letter from Mr. Clay, apparently with deep interest ; 
but at the outset, frankly said, that he thought he should 
not agree with me on the subject of slavery — that he had 
read the life of Ashmun with great pleasure — that he 
was a friend to Liberia, and believed the influence of the 
society, as far as he was informed, beneficent in Africa, 
but that he was an Abolitionist, and had regarded the so- 
ciety as operating injuriously in the United States. His 
views of the influence of the society in America had ob- 
viously been derived from the statements of its enemies, 
and his knowledge of Liberia was very limited in conse- 
quence, as he stated, of his inability to obtain access to 
the publications of the society. 

" In the course of the evening I replied to numerous 
inquiries concerning Liberia, but much of the time was 
occupied in conversation relating to the purposes and 
plans of the African Civilization Society. 

" On the next day I was favored with an interview of 
several hours with Mr. Buxton, when the conversation 
related in part to the principles and policy of the Colo- 
nization Society ; his opinions being, as before expressed, 
favorable to the proceedings of the institution in Africa, 
but otherwise, in regard to its influence in America, 
deeming it an obstruction to the cause of emancipation 
in the south. Of course, I sought very earnestly to cor-^ 
rect liis errors, and remove his prejudices. 

" On this occasion, I took the liberty of making sun- 
dry inquiries in regard to the scheme which the friends 



INTERVIEW WITH BUXTON. 17 

of African civilization in England propose to accomplish, 
and also to state explicitly the objects of my mission. 

"To my first inquiry, "how the African Civilization 
Society was connected with the English Government," 
his reply was, that he had submitted his work, proposing 
a remedy for the African slave trade, to her Majesty's 
Government before its publication, and that the plan of 
operations therein suggested, had been adopted by the mi- 
nistry, and that the outfit of the expedition to explore the 
Niger, was the first measure of the Government towards 
the execution of the scheme, and that the African Civili- 
zation Society had been instituted to co-operate in vari- 
ous ways, and under the protection of the Government 
with tiie ministry, for the deliverance, mstruction, and 
elevation of the African race. 

"To my inquiry as to who would hold the lands 
which might be ceded by the native African princes, and 
exercise the sovereignty over the territory thus obtained, 
he expressed the desire and expectation that the sove- 
reignty would be vested in the English Crown, but that 
the territory would be paid for by the contemplated agi'i- 
cultural company, which, however, is not yet completely 
organized. He expressed strongly the idea that the 
shield of the Government should guard the benevolent 
industry and enterprise of such associations as might ap- 
ply their exertions to the suppression of the slave trade, 
but left me to infer that all the details of the plan were 
not yet matured. 

"To the question whether the British Government 
would expend funds and make efforts in aid of the cause 
of education and Christianity in Africa, he expressed a 
belief that the public opinion of this country would de- 
mand such an expenditure and such efforts, 
2* 



18 MISSION. 

"To inquiries concerning the specific objects of the 
African agricultural company, I learned that it is con- 
templated to secure territory and open a model cotton 
plantation on the banks of the Niger, to obtain colored 
men from the West Indies, Demerara, the United States, 
or Liberia, acquainted with the culture of cotton, to com- 
mence the plantation, and also to a great extent to em- 
ploy native labor ; and that, ultimately, it is designed to 
introduce and foster the cultivation of coffee, the sugar 
cane, and other great staple tropical productions. A 
planter who has resided many years in Demerara, has 
been consulted, with a view to his embarking in the 
scheme, and in a conversation between this gentleman 
and Mr. Buxton, I learned that about £50,000 is deemed 
requisite to make a fair and full experiment, say on 
fifteen hundred acres, including, of course, the erection of 
a cotton gin and press, the employment and transporta- 
tion of agriculturalists from other countries, and the pay- 
ment of the necessary laborers ; for, although the expen- 
diture of this whole amount might not be required the 
first year, it is deemed prudent to provide for difficulties 
and exigencies which in such an experiment may arise. 

"To Mr. Buxton I stated very distinctly, that the 
friends of African colonization in the United States 
regarded the main features of his plan, as exhibited in 
his work, as identical with the scheme and uniform 
policy which, at all times, had been pursued, and with 
such remarkable, if not unexampled success by the 
American Colonization Society ; that this society antici- 
pated the extension of their African territory, and that 
Liberia would become a powerful, as it was already a 
free, prosperous. Christian commonwealth ; that the pre- 
judices against the Colonization Society in England, 



EXTENSION OF TERRITORY. 19 

arising, I could not doubt, from misinformation or mis- 
conception, were known in the United States ; that tlie 
Directors of the Colonization Society deemed it import- 
ant that in Africa, at least, there should be harmony and 
non-interference between those in England and America, 
who were or might be engaged in introducing among the 
barbarous tribes of that distracted country, the know- 
ledge of liberty, civilization, and Christianity; that a 
much more extended line of coast would be necessary 
to the colony of Liberia, and that I was authorized to 
express the wish and expectation of the society I had 
the honor to represent, that it should be agreed and 
understood, that the American Colonization Society 
should enjoy an exclusive pre-emptive right to the coun- 
try as far south as the river Assinee, if not to Axim. 

"To this Mr. Buxton assented as reasonable; said 
there was abundant territory for all, and that he should 
rejoice were other settlements, like Liberia, multiplied 
along the African coast; but that he could give no 
pledges for the Civilization Society, or the English 
Government, but would be happy, on the return of Dr. 
Lushington, Sir Robert Inglis and other gentlemen of 
the committee to London, to afford me the opportunity 
of presenting the subject to their consideration. 

"During this conversation, I also alluded briefly to 
some modes by which the societies, in America and 
England, might operate with mutual advantage to each 
other — in the exchange, for instance, of American tobac- 
co at Liberia for acticles of manufacture from England, 
and that emigrants suited to aid the enterprises of the 
English society, might be supplied, perhaps, by the 
American society, in return for funds to promote the 
cause of internal improvement in Liberia, from the 



20 MISSIOIN". 

philanthropists of England. I urged, that nowhere, on 
tlie African coast, in my judgment, could expenditures 
be made, with such advantage, as within the limits, and 
ill the vicinity of Liberia. 

. " On no one point has a deeper interest been manifest- 
ed, than in regard to the prospect of inducing persons of 
color, acquainted with agriculture, in the United States, 
to emigrate to the proposed English settlements; and 
my opinion is, that a distinct proposition to furnish such 
emigrants would be met with liberality. 

^'I am greatly surprised at the ignorance of very 
distinguished and benevolent men here, in regard to 
Liberia. Such persons have been astonished to learn 
that this colony was not sustained and controlled by the 
United States Government — that the slave trade had been 
checked by its influence, and that slavery did not exist 
within its limits. 

" I am invited to confer wdth a sub-committee of the 
Civilization Society to-morrow. 

••' As yet, I have received no communications from the 
committee, at Washington, since I left the United States. 

'•^With the exception of instructions to stipulate for 
all that line of the African coast lying north and west of 
Assinee, I am without definite authority in relation to 
.-several specific objects, which, by negotiation, might 
probably be advantageously secured. 

"'• I am of opinion, that, to enlighten the public mind, 
and conciliate the public favor extensively in this king- 
dom towards the Colonization Society, will require 
prudence, vigorous efforts, and time ; and that, if any 
great results in these respects are anticipated, the stay of 
an agent must be prolonged for several months, if not 
for a year. From judicious and energetic exertions 



THIRD LETTER TO COMMITTEE. 21 

during such a period, I should hope benefits of great 
value might be secured to the society. 

'•'• I have great pleasure in transmitting herewith copies 
of letters addressed to Dr. Hodgkin on the subject of 
Liberia, the first from Governor Buchanan, and the 
second from Capt. Stoll of the Royal Navy, both ex- 
ceedingly interesting, and worthy of publication. No- 
thing has ever appeared from Liberia more encouraging 
than this testimony of Capt. Stoll, and when the source 
from which it emanates is considered, it will receive full 
credit. 

" I am happy to forward herewith several documents 
of the African Civilization Society, and will seek, by 
another opportunity, to transmit a new work, just 
published by Mr. McQueen, containing a letter to Lord 
John Russell, much geographical information, and an 
improved map of Africa. 

" Gentlemen, 

'' I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

" Your friend and servant, 

«R. R. GURLEY." 

I now submit my next letter to the committee. 

" LoNDOi>f, August 26, 1S40. 
'"• To the Executiue Committee of the 

American CoIonizatio7i Society: 
" Gentlemen : Since the date of my last letter, 
nothing of very special importance has occurred. Mr. 
Buxton has retired for a short time to the country, for 
the benefit of his health, and as he expressed a desire to 
become well acquainted with the views and history of 
the Colonization Society, I have placed in his hands- 



22 MISSION. 

nearly all our reports, and an entire set of the African 
Repository up to the commencement of the present year, 
directing his attention to such articles as are most 
worthy of his perusal. 

*^ During the last week, I passed an hour, at their 
re^quest, with a sub-committee of the Civilization Soci- 
ety, appointed to collect information, and having stated 
to the"!!! numerous facts in relation to Liberia, their 
<^hairman was authorized to seek an early opportunity 
for further conference, and especially to impart whatever 
knowledge he might possess of the views and policy of 
the English Civilization Society. With this gentleman 
I have not conferred further on the subject, and believe 
he is for a few days absent from the city. I hope soon 
to see him. 

" Yesterday I breakfasted with Capt. Trotter, (who is 
to command the expedition to the Niger,) in company 
with Capt. Allen, (who visited that river in Laird's expe- 
dition, in 1832,) the Rev. Mr. Muller, who is chaplain, 
and several other officers and scientific persons, who are 
to adventure on this philanthropic but perilous voyage of 
discovery. I have formed a high opinion of Capt. 
Trotter, as a candid, very intelligent, and noble minded 
man. The first steamboat for the expedition is to be 
launched this week at Liverpool, but the departure will 
not take place before November. It is intended to 
employ the Kroo people as laborers, and to take one 
hundred and fifty of them from Sierra Leone. Capt. 
Trotter will touch at Liberia, and I have promised him. 
letters to Governor Buchanan. 

"In my conversations with Mr. Buxton, I have ex- 
pressed the opinion, that much of the success of Liberia, 
and the remarkable spirit and prosperity of its citizens. 



GOVERNMENT OF LIBERIA. 23 

are to be ascribed to the share they possess in govern- 
ment, and the moral certainty, to their minds, that to 
their posterity, if not to them, will belong the privileges 
and honors of a free and independent national character» 

" I ventm-ed to suggest that this policy, which had 
been proved so effectual for good in the experience of 
the American Colonization Society, might merit the pro- 
found consideration of all philanthropists who sought to 
reform and civilize the people of Africa. 

"While assenting to the justice of the remark, Mr. 
Buxton expressed the opinion, that it was at this moment 
impossible for the Civilization Society to decide, abso- 
lutely, what policy should be ultimately adopted in the 
African settlements. 

" Although it is impossible to predict, with confidence, 
what will be the result of my mission, I have not 
felt myself at liberty to return without seeking an 
interview with the general Committee of the Civilization 
Society, which must detain me here several weeks, by 
the close of which time I hope to be favored with 
replies to my several communications to the Board 
at Washington. Thus far, my exertions have been 
directed to the minds of individuals, as it is thought, by 
judicious friends, of vital importance so to influence the 
opinion of the Civilization Society, that, in appearing 
before the public, -even if denied its support, I may 
not encounter its hostility. It is a matter of very 
deep regret to me, that I am without any definite and 
full instructions from the Committee on several points 
which are of great interest to the cause. Letters in 
regard to some commercial arrangements, which I was 
informed were forwarded to New York by the Chair- 
man, have never been received. 



24 



MISSIO-V. 



"Will the Committee be good enough to consider 
whether any, and if so, what proposition or propositions 
shall be made to the Civilization Society, in regard 
to any exchange, on the coast of Africa, of American 
products for British manufactures ? 

"Whether any stipulations shall be suggested to 
secure the neutrality of the Liberia settlements in case 
of war ? 

" Whether any propositions shall be made to secure 
free trade between Liberia and all British colonies on the 
African coast ? 

" Whether any, and what arrangements can be adopted 
mutually between the Colonization and Civilization Soci- 
eties for the suppression of the slave trade ? 

"Whether the Colonization Society will encourage 
any free persons of color, or liberated slaves, acquainted 
with the culture of sugar, rice, or cotton, to emigrate to 
British settlements, and on what condition ? 

" Whether, in case funds were here contributed to found 
and sustain a high school or college in Liberia, it should 
be open to educate youths from British settlements ? 

" Whether funds may be expended for the education of 
native Africans, within the limits of Liberia, by the 
English Civilization Society, and under what regulations 
and conditions ? 

"I am very happy to learn, by a note from Mr. 
Knight, as well as from the African Repository, received 
by Dr. Hodgkin, that animating intelligence has been 
received from Liberia, and that liberal contributions have 
been made recently to the treasury of the society. I am 
gratified to notice Mr. Cresson's project, already well 
sustained, and which, I trust, will soon, by his zeal and 
perseverance, be fully accomplished. 



SI^AVES PREPARING FOR FREEDOM. 25 

"For a short time I propose to devote myself to 
interviews and correspondence with clergymen, and 
others, and to the preparation of a few articles for 
the press. Dr. Hodgkin is anxious that I should visit 
Clarkson, as well as several eminent philanthropists 
of the Society of Friends. 

" The American delegates to the recent Anti-slavery 
Convention, have done what they could to strengthen 
prejudice against our society in the public mind here, as 
well as to darken and degrade the character of the great 
body of their countrymen in the eyes of the people of 
England. But such testimony as that of Capt. Stoll is 
conclusive evidence of the beneficence of the Colonization 
Society, and of the prosperity of Liberia, and must pow- 
erfully affect candid and reflecting minds. Nor does it 
admit of doubt, that the Civilization Society is about to turn 
the tide of thought and sympathy to Africa, as the great the- 
atre for the deliverance and elevation of the African race. 

"Mr. Cresson infonns Dr. Hodgkin that numerous 
slaves are in preparation, for freedom in Liberia, and tliat, 
for every £12 raised in England tow^ards the object, he 
will pledge himself to plant an emancipated slave in 
Africa, as a colonist, and will guarantee to extend this 
operation to 10,000, who are now slaves. I am not 
hopeless, if time is allowed me, of doing something 
effectual for the funds of the society. 

"I have to acknowledge very special obligations to 
Dr. Hodgkin ; and also that Petty Vaughan, esquire, and 
his venerable uncle, William Vaughan, esquire, as well 
as the Messrs. Ralstons and Junius Smith, L. L. D., are 
disposed to render me every aid in their powder. 
" I remain, gentlemen, &c., 

R. R. GURLEY." 
3 



26 MISSION. 

The lirst communication received by me, in Eng- 
land, from the society, was the following, extracted from 
the minutes of the Executive Committee, and enclosed 
in a note from a gentleman in their office, Mr. Knight ; 

"At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
American Colonization Society, held at their office in 
Washington, .July 27, 1840, the following preamble and 
resolutions were passed : 

" Whereas, The sentiments expressed and resolutions 
passed at the various meetings recently held in London 
by several societies, and especially the one called the 
'World's Convention,' are hostile to the interests and 
institutions of this country, and calculated to embitter 
the feelings of our citizens, to strengthen and perpetuate 
hostility to the cause of colonization, and are now pro- 
ducing great excitement : therefore, 

" 1st. Resolved, That the Rev. R. R. Gurley be, and 
is hereby, particularly requested not to compromit the 
known and avowed objects and intentions of this society, 
and that, in making any communications intended for 
publication . in this country, relating to the views and 
objects of the several societies in England, they be 
exclusively directed to the Executive Committee of the 
American Colonization Society. 

" 2d. Resolved, That on the completion of his mission 
to England, Mr. Gurley be, and is hereby, requested to 
return to Boston and prosecute the interests and objects 
of the American Colonization Society, by collecting 
funds in that city and adjacent places, in accordance witli 
these, and other suggestions and instructions wliich may 
hereafter be given him. 

•' 3d. Resolved, That Mr. Knight be, and he is hereby. 



RESOLUTIONS OF COMMITTEE. 27 

requested to forward a copy of the foregoing preamble 
and resolutions to the Rev. R. R. Gurley, now in England, 
by the steam packet to sail first of August. 
" A true copy from the minutes. 

"F. KNIGHT, 
" Assistant Secretary, 
" American Colonization Society. 
"Colonization Rooms, 
« Washington, July 28, 1840.'' 

These resolutions, it will be seen, were adopted just 
about the time of my arrival in London. It was stated 
in the 3companying note, that they were passed 
under an anxiety of the Committee, produced by the 
proceedings of the World's Convention, in order 
that nothing might be done to involve the American 
Colonization Society in any measures of any English 
societies ; that the Committee " felt great confidence in 
my good judgment, and trusted that good would result 
from private conferences with wise and judicious men in 
England." Allusion was also made to the independent 
stand taken by the Louisiana Society, and to apprehen- 
sions that Mississippi would adopt the same policy ; and 
it was suggested that, by accepting for a time an agency 
in those States, I might contribute to restore united and 
harmonious action. That I was surprised at these reso- 
lutions, will not seem incredible, when it is considered 
that they came from a committee of my professed friends, 
to whom I looked for definite instructions and firm 
support ; that they spoke of a completion of my mission 
and my return before I had even commenced my work, 
or had time to announce my arrival in England — that 
they seemed to imply the existence of a time fixed or 



28 MISSION. 

limited, for this mission, which had been left indetermi- 
nate — and, above all, that they directed my engaging in 
the duties of an agency in Boston when it was known 
to their authors that the attempt, (but too successful,) in 
my absence, to exclude me, by amending the constitution 
of the Society,* from a seat in the Committee, which, in 
virtue of my office, I had for many years held, and thus 
not only to diminish my influence, but deprive the station 
I had occupied of its chief attractions to an honorable 
mind, had compelled me to send in my resignation, 
which had been withdrawn only at their unanimous 
request, with the understanding that it would be renewed, 
unless at the next annual meeting of the Directors the 
causes which produced it should be removed. 
I here submit my reply to this communication. 

" London, August 27, 1840. 

"My Dear Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of 
your two favors of the 28th of July, and refer you to 
my letters to the Executive Committee for information of 
my proceedings, and of the present state of sentiment 
towards the colonization cause in this country. I find 
the opinions of the English very much in unison with 
my expectations, and while I find little to animate, I see 
nothing to discourage me. 

" Mr. Buxton and his Civilization Society will, I think, 
take no ground in opposition to the Colonization Soci- 
ety; in Africa we may look to them for amity and 
co-operation, yet how far they will deny or grant to us, 
in our American operations, either purity of motive or 
beneficence of conduct, is yet to be decided. 

"I greatly regret that the Louisiana Society should 

* See Appendix A. 



INSTRUCTIONS DESIRED. 29 

have deemed it necessary to assume an independent 
position, but am gratified to learn that the general cause 
is gaining strength, and that generous contributions are 
flowing into the treasury. I anticipated increased dona- 
tions from the earnest eflbrts and appeals made to the 
Christians of our country just before the fourth of July. 

"We have peculiar reason for gratitude to the 
Almighty for his protecting care of the colony, and 
that recent arrivals bring intelligence of its increasing 
prosperity. Mr. Buchanan (whose name, it gives me 
pleasure to think, I first proposed to the Board for the 
office of governor,) has administered the colonial affairs 
with great good sense, energy and courage, and won for 
himself a very honorable and lasting fame. 

"I must be permitted to suggest to the Committee, 
through you, the propriety of transmitting as ample 
instructions as possible on all subjects related to the 
objects of my mission. I will thank you to forward, 
through Henry Smitli, esquire, of New York, the 
African Repository, and such other papers as may inform 
me of the condition and prospects of the Colonization 
Society. 

"Much time and judicious and energetic exertions are 
required to produce a very extensive and salutary change 
in favor of our society in this kingdom. I am inclined 
to think such a change can be effected, and that it will 
richly compensate for any expense of effort or money 
necessary to accomplish it. But my means of forming 
a judgment are at present limited. I hope to express 
myself with greater confidence by the next opportunity. 

"The united and generous endeavors of the New 
York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey Societies in the 
cause, are very encouraging omens, and let us cherish 
3* 



00 MISSION, 

the hope, that one sentiment of charity will animate the so- 
cieties (however they may differ in their modes of opera- 
tion, or be separated in their proceeding's for the same end,) 
formed to plant civilization and Christianity in Africa. 
" While I am deeply sensible how much the interests 
of the society demand my early return to the regular 
and constant discharge of my duties, as Secretary, at 
Washington, where I should find much pleasure in con- 
tributing my humble aid to the deliberations and proceed- 
ings of the Committee, yet I do not feel at liberty to 
abandon my duties here until I shall have conferred more 
fully with the Directors of the African Civilization Soci- 
ety, or am more thoroughly apprised of the judgment 
adopted in view of tlie facts of the case, by those I 
liave the honor to represent. 

" Very truly and faithfully, 

" My dear sir, 
'' Your friend and servant, 

"R. R. GURLEY. 
'" Franklin Knight, Esq." 

The next token of confidence and encouragement, 
bearing something of an official character, was the fol- 
lowing, signed by three distinguished members, my per- 
sonal friends, of the New York Colonization Society. 

1 omit names.* 



* It is proper far me to state, that the name of one of these 
gentlemen was affixed to this letter by his consent, but without 
his knowledge of its precise contents, and that he subsequently 
deemed the letter uncalled for, and unworthy of its authors. Nor 
do I doubt that pure motives gave origin to the communication 
— yet it strikingly exhibits the strange illusions thrown, at this 
period, over the minds of my friends. 



EVIDENCE OF CONFIDENCE. 31 

"C0LONIZA.T10N Rooms, New York, 

'-'August 7, 1840. 

" Sir : Information has reached us, and from sources 
entitled to credit, by which we are equally astonished and 
alarmed, that you have conveyed * * a proposition to sell 
to Mr. Buxton, and his associates, the settlement at Cape 
Palmas, and ti-ansfer to them the emigrants who have been 
conveyed to that colony. Such a proposition, if consum- 
mated, would, in our opinion, be not only fatal to the 
cause of colonization, but rivet the chains of the ill-fated 
negro for generations to come, and bring a stain upon the 
American character, which all future time would not wash 
away. The very idea of persuading the poor colored 
man to leave his native shores, with promises that our 
fostering care should be extended to him on a foreign 
land, and then transfer him to other and unknown hands, 
would expose us who are agents in the enterprise, to 
the contempt of our patrons whose money we have soli- 
cited, and would in our opinion expose our common coun- 
try to the scorn of the civilized world. 

" We would most fondly cherish the hope that our intel- 
ligence is unfounded; but if there is even the shadow of 
truth in this rumor, that you have borne to Mr. Buxton 
a communication of this nature, we protest against it in 
the name of our Master, and of our country, and of the 
colored man to whom we have made professions of dis- 
interested benevolence. You know that it was with great 
difficulty we could spare the means of sending you to 
England, and it was explicitly understood and expressed, 
that your exclusive object was to promote the cause of 
colonization, which we have uniformly regarded as the 
cause of humanity and religion ; but a proposition of the 
nature to which we have referred, must inevitably blast 
our hopes of the noblest scheme which ever originated 



32 MISSION. 

in the bosom of philanthropy. Such would be the alarm 
excited by a knowledge of this report, that we dare not 
disclose it even to our associates in the Board, and the 
fact is known only to us whose names are undersigned. 
The fact, if disclosed, would defeat all application to the 
friends of Africa for discharging those heavy responsibili- 
ties which we have recently incurred by the outfit of the 
Saluda. If Cape Palmas is offered for sale, we will rather 
make an effort to purchase than be accessory to the perpe- 
tration of a deed by which we must appear traitors to the 
colored race. Fail not to inform us by the first opportunity 
relative to this fact, and lest one letter should miscarry, let 
duplicates be forwarded that our anxieties may be removed. 
"Rev. R. R. Gurley." 

To this letter (bearing date it will be observed about 
ten days after my arrival in England) I hastened to reply 
in the following terms : 

"London, September 1, 1840. 

"Gentlemen: In reply to your letter of the 7th of 
August, it gives me pleasure to say, that I have made no 
proposition for the sale of Cape Palmas, to Mr. Buxton, 
or to his associates. The rumor referred to by you may 

hare originated from a conversation between Mr. 

and myself, just before I left the United States, but I am 
not aware, that I have ever alluded to that conversation 
in the presence of any English gentleman, since I have 
been upon this shore. I send, as you request, duplicates 
of this note, and have the honor to be, 

" Gentlemen, with great respect, &c., 

"Messrs. "R. R. GURLEY." 

On the next day, I addressed to these gentlemen the fol- 
lowing more explicit note : 



. REPLY TO NEW YORK FRIENDS. 33 

" London, Sept. 2, 1840. 

"Gentlemen : — On the receipt of your letter of the 
7th of August, yesterday, I wrote you briefly and with 
that surprise which a communication of that character 
and so unexpected, would naturally excite. I had already 
been astonished by a letter from another quarter in Ameri- 
ca, and it seemed as though some disastrous twilight must 
have fallen on the Society, in which suspicions were 
thickly flying abroad. I have thought it might be more 
satisfactory to you, to add a few words in explanation. 
I know nothing of the sources of the rumor to which 
you refer, but presume it must have arisen from some 
misapprehension in the United States, of a conversation 
between Mr. and myself. 

" I may have alluded to this conversation before I left 
the country, and some one have thought proper so to speak 
of it as to occasion your astonishment and alarm. 

" But the conversation was a mere casual and unofficial 
matter, never intended, I presume, to be viewed as ex- 
pressing the opinions of his Society •, never deemed by 
me as giving me any authority ., and I have already stated, 
not such as to dispose me to mention the subject to any 
English gentleman since my arrival in London. And it 

is due to Mr. to say, that in his speculations, (for 

such I think his remarks should be viewed,) I do not be- 
lieve he had a thought of acting without the consent or 
against the welfare of Cape Palmas. I trust, therefore, 
the subject will not be mentioned to his injury.* I shall 
hope to be able, in various ways to promote the cause of 
our Society in this kingdom. 

"With great respect, gentlemen, &c., 

"Messrs. " R. R. GURLEY." 

* If fairly reported, it could do that gentleman no injury with 
honorable men, 



34 MISSION. 

The instructions in my commission were general. The 
views communicated by the committee on the subject 
alone of extending the Liberian territory, were definite. 
The prorogation of Parliament almost immediately on my 
arrival in London, was a signal for the dispersion of the 
nobility, and more distinguished citizens, and the absence 
of many members of the general committee of the African 
Civilization Society, rendered it impossible for some 
weeks to present any subject to their consideration. Nor 
was it in my power to fulfil the object of my visit, or 
ascertain their views in reference to an extension of the 
Liberian territory, without a conference with this com- 
mittee. The Civilization Society was about to hold 
public meetings in various parts of England, and the hope 
w^as cherished by some of its ablest friends, who were 
friends also of the Colonization Society, that opportunity 
would be granted to me at these meetings of enforcing 
the claims of that association in connection with such 
explanations of the views of our countrymen who were 
successfully engaged in planting the seeds of knowledge, 
liberty, and a pure faith in Liberia, and thus of removing 
from the minds of the English, their unfortunate and 
unjust prejudices against the American Colonization So- 
ciety. 

It is, I must presume, generally known, that through 
the earnest efforts of Mr. Cresson and Dr. Hodgkin, a 
Society was organized in London, some eight years ago, 
denominated the British African Colonization Society ; 
that his Royal Highness, the Duke of Sussex, presided 
at its formation ; that Lord Bexley and many other emi- 
nent men gave to it their countenance ; that its declared 
object was " to promote the establishment of Christianity 
and civilization among the natives of Africa, chiefly by 
tlie employment of persons of African birth or descent ; 



BRITISH AFRICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 35 

and to the entire abolition of the slave trade ; " and that 
for these ends it was determined " to enter into corres- 
pondence and co-operation with the American Coloniza- 
tion Society, and with the several missionary and other 
religious and charitable societies in Great Britain, the 
United States, and elsewhere, in their endeavors to raise 
the civil, moral, and religious condition of the Africans." 
Between this society and the American Colonization 
Society, there existed mutual confidence ; funds to some 
extent were contributed in England ; and the village of 
Bexley, on the banks of the St. John's river, in Liberia, 
sprung into existence under the fostering care of this 
association. Distrust, however, of the benevolence of 
the Colonization Society, was extensively produced in 
England by the zeal and misrepresentations of American 
Abolitionists, and the operations of this British society 
were entirely arrested. Indeed, upon my arrival in Lon- 
don, it had but a nominal existence. The British African 
Civilization Society had risen, as it were, to occupy its 
place ; was established for nearly the same objects ; and, 
but for its want of sympathy with the friends of Africa 
in the United States, might have been regarded as embo- 
dying all its vital principles and advantages. It was, then, 
a question with the English friends of the American 
Colonization Society, whether an attempt should be 
made to revive the British African Colonization Society. 
The chief, if not only reason for such an attempt, arose 
from the apparent indisposition (beginning to be mani- 
fest,) of the Civilization Society to reciprocate the con- 
fidence and regard of the Colonization Society. The hope 
was still entertained that this indisposition might, by 
correct statements, be overcome ; but if not, it was 
clearly important that the Colonization Society should, 



36 MISSION. 

through some other means, make known its doctrines 
and success to the people of England. Several gentle- 
men, interested in the object of my mission, were invited 
by Dr. Hodgkin to meet at his house, and consider the 
best means of effecting it, but previously to their delibe- 
rations, I addressed the following letter to the Com- 
mittee at Washington : 

"London, Sej^tejnher 11, 1840. 
" To the Executive Committee of the 

American Colonization Society: 

" Gentlemen : Since I last wrote, nothing of great 
importance has occurred here in relation to the interests 
of the American Colonization Society. 

"Soon after my interviews with Mr. Buxton, he 
retired into the country, supplied with nearly all the 
publications of our society, which I trust he will peruse 
with attention and candor. T have addressed to him a 
letter, on the subject of the importance of a union, in 
sympathy at least, between the friends of African civili- 
zation in England and the United States, but as yet have 
not been favored with a reply. My impressions are, 
that every thing is working slowly but favorably for us 
here, and that a large portion of public sentiment in 
England and America may be brought to coalesce and 
co-operate for the civilization of Africa, and the good of 
the colored race. 

" Some days ago, I was invited to meet several gentle- 
men of the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti- 
slavery Society, in a conference relating to African 
colonization, and the objects of my visit to this country. 
I was accompanied by our good friend. Dr. Hodgkin, 
and among others present were Messrs. Birney and 



DESIRABLE TO BE CONCILIATORY. 37 

Stanton, delegates from the United States to the recent 
Anti-slavery Convention in this city. Dr. Hodgkin and 
myself commnnicated, to those present, many interesting 
facts concerning the Colonization Society and its African 
settlements ; heard, and, as we were able, answered sun- 
dry objections ; defended the colony from reproaches 
cast upon it as participating in the slave trade ; and, 
finally, produced the triumphant vindication of Capt. 
Stoll and Governor Buchanan, in regard to the character 
of Liberia. 

" A meeting of a few friends to the Colonization Soci- 
ety and African civilization, is to take place at the resi- 
dence of Dr. Hodgkin, to-morrow evening. I hope the 
iirst steps may be taken for measures of extensive use- 
fulness to the African cause. If the British African 
Colonization Society can be revived as a branch of the 
Civilization Society, it may conduce powerfully to unite 
the sentiments of England and America for the civiliza- 
tion of Africa, and I should hope, aid in an essential man- 
ner, the funds and operations of the American Society. 
. " It is of great importance that a kind spirit towards our 
noble minded friends in Great Britain, should be shown 
in all our publications, and that our aim should be not 
to recriminate but to conciliate. 

" I hope to receive very full communications and in- 
structions by the return of the Queen. 

" In the mean time, I shall be exerting my best abilities 
to advance the great cause of African colonization, and 
secure that union so greatly to be desired between the 
philanthropy of Great Britain and America, for the re- 
demption and elevation of the colored race. 

" I have the honor to be, gentlemen, yours, &c., 

" R. R. GURLEY." 
4 



38 MISSION. 

At the meeting on the evening- of the 12th of Septem- 
ber, at the house of Dr. Hodgkin, several able and judi- 
cious friends of African colonization were present, and 
after much conversation, adopted, with unanimity, the 
following resolution : 

" Resolved, That it is expedient to revive the British 
African Colonization Society in union with the African 
Civilization Society, and that its title be 'The British 
African Colonization Society for the civilization of Africa.' 

"The objects of this association shall be not only to 
aid the general purposes of the African Civilization Soci- 
ety, but also to establish upon the African coast, colonies 
of free persons of color from the West Indies, the United 
States or elsewhere, who may desire to emigrate to that 
continent; to strengthen such colonies as are already 
founded, by assisting emigrants to resort to them ; to 
establish schools and institutions for moral, religious, 
intellectual, agricultural and commercial improvement; 
to guard the rights, civilize the manners, and instruct 
the children of the native population widiin tlie limits 
or under the influence of these colonies ; in fine, to 
adopt tlie best means of rendering these colonies models 
of good government and christian society." 

I have alluded to a conference, at their request, with a 
committee of the Anti-Slavery Society. Two of the 
American delegates to the World's Anti-Slavery Conven- 
tion, Messrs. Birney and Stanton, were present at this 
meeting. Dr. Hodgkin and myself replied to the various 
inquiries proposed by the committee in relation to the 
Colonization Society, and the condition and prospects of 
Liberia, and endeavored to refute, by facts as well as 
argument, sundry objections urged by the committee and 
their associates against the Society and the colony. Re- 



CONFERENCE WITH A. S. COMMITTEE. 39 

cent letters from the colony, and particularly the state- 
ment of Capt. StoU, (an officer m the British navy, who 
had then but just returned from a visit to Liberia,) vindi- 
cating its character, and bearing testimony to its influence 
against the slave trade, were read by Dr. Hodgkin. 

Seldom have I been more painfully impressed by iin- 
looked for evidences of the imperfection of our nature, 
than when informed soon after this meeting, that state- 
ments had been made by some present, (Americans I 
believe,) to the venerable Thomas Clarkson, personally 
injurious to me, and equally if not more so to the colo- 
nization cause. It is melancholy to think that this great 
philanthropist, oppressed by age and infirmities, on the 
very verge of life, should hare been so misled from the 
path of wisdom and charity, by those who can ofl^er no 
sufficient apology for their misrepresentations, as pub- 
licly to have expressed himself in language neither sanc- 
tioned by reason nor justice, and unworthy of his cha- 
racter and fame. I allude particularly to certain papers 
bearing his honored name, widely circulated by the abo- 
litionists in the United States. But the fault lies more with 
others than himself. It is impossible for him at present 
thoroughly to examine into the great questions between 
the anti-slavery committee and the friends of African 
colonization and civilization. In a note to a friend, he 
alluded to the statements of one or more gentlemen 
present at the conference with the anti-slavery com- 
mittee. 

The following is extracted from my letter to Mr. Clark- 
son, occasioned by this note : 

''' You are pleased also to refer to the reports of certain 
persons who have been with me in London, and who 
charge me with a want of ^ straightforivardness^^ and 



40 MISSION- 

with prevarication during what tliey have thought proper 
to represent as my examination before the anti-slavery 
committee. Sir, I was invited in very friendly terms to 
meet and confer with that committee. I replied in the 
best manner I was able, to their numerous inquiries. I 
communicated all the information in my power in regard 
to the views of the Colonization Society, and the colony 
of Liberia. Dr. Hodgkin has already stated to you his 
^'iews of my conduct on this occasion. What is my 
reward for meeting, at their own request, in conference, 
these individuals of the anti-slavery committee ? To 
have my motives impeached and my reputation assailed 
in my absence, and in the presence of that great and good 
man, whom I have from my youth regarded with more 
than respect, with love and admiration. ' Faithful are the 
Vv^ounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are de- 
ceitful.' 

" It is right for me to state, that at this conference, the 
editor of the Anti-Slavery Journal was present, also the 
Rev. Mr. Scoble, and that our friend Dr. Hodgkin read in 
their hearing Capt. StolPs letter* on the subject of Libe- 

* "215 PicADiLLY, Juhj 17, 1840. 
" My Dear Sir : — I had not returned from the country at the 
time your meeting was held, to which you were so kind as to 
invite me ; this will account for my silence, and I am sorry that 
the press of affairs on me at this moment, should interfere with my 
contributing my mite for the African race. In case I should not 
meet you before leaving London, I shall commit the following facts 
to paper, all of which are from my own observation, relative to the 
American colony of Liberia, in which you are so much interested, 
and justly so. My opinion, though not of much value, is that it 
promises to be the only successful institution of the sort on the 
coast of Africa, keeping in mind its objects, namely, that of rais- 
ing the African slave into a free man ; preparing him for the 
exercise of civil liberty> in its various branches, from tho governx^-f 



LETTER TO MR. CLARKSOX. 41 

ria, also the letter of Governor Buchanan, both written 
this year, copies of which have, I believe, been furnished 
you, and both bearing decisive evidence that the slave 
trade was extensively suppressed through the laws and 
influence of that colony ; yet within a few days after the 
meeting, an article is published in the Anti-Slavery Jour- 
nal, to prove Liberia to be aiding and abetting the slave 
trade, and not a ivord said of the recent uncxceptionahk^ 
decided and conclusive testimony on the subject^ suhniitted 
by Dr. Hodgkin. Alas ! the disposition to detect the 
mote in another's eye, while a beam is in our own, was 
not alone prevalent in the times of our Saviour. 

*•' Much, however, and justly, as I value the favor and 
approbation of wise and good men, like yourself, my 
personal reputation is of little consequence, compared 

to the laborer; the extinction of the slave trade, and last, though 
not least, the religious and moral improvement of Africa at large. 
1st. From the carriage and conversation of the emancipated slave, 
you perceive at once that he feels himself a freeman ; they one 
and all told me, they were men now, which they never were before, 
and had a prospect for their children, not in the least regretting 
their departure from America ; on the contrary, desirous of getting 
their relations over to join them. 2d. The affairs of the colony 
are conducted, with the exception of the governor, entirely by 
colored men, chiefly liberated slaves ; and Mr. Buchanan, a most 
able and zealous friend of the African, assured me, that their 
judicial administration would do credit to any State in America, 
and that they were most reasonable in all their propositions and 
debates in their House of Assembly. They are all quite aware, that 
nothing but industry can conduce to their wealth and comfort, and 
practise it ; even the Africans captured and located by the American 
government, have followed the example set by the colonists for 
when I visited them, about 3 P. M., the hottest part of the day, I 
found them all at work on their farms. 3d. No one in the remotest 
degree connected with the slave trade, is allowed ever to communi- 
cate with Liberia, much less trade ; and from a little affair with 
4* 



42 MISSION. 

v/itli that of the institution I liave tlie honor to represent, 
and my regret less that you sliould view me with dis- 
trust, than that you should doubt the enlarged humanity 
and benevolence of the American Colonization Society. 
With grief and pain I have perused your letter to Mr. 
Garrison. From that letter I infer that Mr. Cresson, in 
the enthusiasm of his feelings, may have erred in regard 
to the extent of the spirit of emancipation in the United 
States. But in regard to the Society as benevolent in all 
its tendencies towards the colored race, both in America 
and Africa, I conceive there was no error in his views, 
and I believe it can be shown in its policy and pro- 
ceedings, to have the sanction of reason, justice and 
religion ; and that the first impressions v/hich you, ven- 
erable sir, and your former friends and associates. Lord 

myself, and other ocular proofs, they are ahvays ready to join in 
any expedition for the destruction of slave factories. 4th. They 
are preparing missionaries from amongst themselves, and have 
already attempted it on a small scale, but with what success, I am 
not ready to say, not having had an opportunity of personal inspec- 
tion ; but their schools do them credit, more especially when their 
small means are considered. The colonists, with few exceptions, 
are all members of churches, and I can most safely testify, that a 
more orderly, sober set of people I never met with. I did not hear 
an improper or profane expression during my visit. Spirits are 
excluded in most if not all the settlements. They have formed 
themselves into various societies, such as agricultural, botanical, 
mechanical, for promoting Christian knowledge ; also, a ladies' 
society for clothing the poor, &c. The surrounding Africans are 
aware of the nature of the colony, taking refuge, when persecuted 
by the few neighboring slave traders. The remnants of a tribe 
b.ave lately fled to, and settled in the colony, on land granted them. 
Between my two visits, a lapse of only a few daj'-s, four or five 
slaves sought refuge from their master, who was about to sell, or 
had sold them to the only factory on that part of the coast. The 
native chiefs in the neighborhood have that respect for the colo- 



43 

Gambler, Mr. Wilberforce, the Duke of Gloucester, Mrs. 
More, (now enjoying in a jiurer world the rewards of 
their philanthropy,) received of it, when Messrs. Mills 
and Burgess, in 1818, visited England, were entirely 
sound, and required no change. It is not at this moment 
my purpose to correct the errors and misrepresentations 
darkening the public mind of England on this sulDJect, 
l)ut to say, that I am prepared to do this, and to prove 
that whether we regard the good of the free colored 
population of the United States, the peaceful and volun- 
tary manumission of slaves in that country, the suppres- 
sion of the African slave trade, or the intellectual and 
moral renovation of Africa, the scheme which the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society has proposed and thus far 
prosecuted with such remarkable success, merits the 

nists, that they have made treaties for the abolition of the slave 
trade, as also constituted the governor judge in the dispute amongst 
themselves, and a remarkable instance had occurred only a few 
days previous to my visit; one chief submitted to the arbitration 
of Mr. Buchanan, though contrary to his own idea of right and 
justice, and paid tlie fine imposed upon him. I could say much 
more, but my time does not admit, and I must conclude this ram- 
bling and hurried account of my visit to Liberia, with this obser- 
vation, that I went there unbiassed, and left it with a conviction 
that colonies on the principle of Liberia, ought to be established 
as soon as possible, if we wish to serve Africa, and the materials 
for such colonies, I think can only be procured from the slaves of 
the United States. 

"lam not disposed, from what I have seen and known of our 
West India blacks, to select them for this great work, if for no 
other reason, the American black speaks pure English. Excuse 
this hasty production, with all its faults ; but rather than break my 
word, I send you this ; and with every wish for your success in 
your philanthropic exertions, I remain, my dear sir, yours, most 
truly, JOHN L. R. STOLL. 

"To T. HODGKIN, M. D." 



44 MISSION. 

approbation and generous support of the whole Christian 
world. You approve of Mr. Buxton's plan. I fully con- 
cur in your opinion of that plan. If it be defective, it 
is only in that particular which the example of Liberia 
might supply. Good government and free institutions, 
are elements which above all things else Africa requires, 
and never will the colored race attain to the dignity and 
honor ^.vhich every good man must desire may be theirs, 
until they share in tfteir own government and rise to an 
independent national existence. Africa is their rightful in- 
heritance and to reclaim her from superstition, slavery, 
and barbarism, and rebuild the ruins of her former civili- 
zation and grandeur, and bring her under the dominion of 
Christianity, is one of the greatest w^orks to which a people 
were ever summoned by the Providence of the Almighty." 

The British association for the promotion of science, 
comprising gentlemen eminent for knowledge from all 
parts of England and Ireland, and, generally, attended by 
distinguished persons from different countries on the con- 
tinent was about to assemble in Glasgow, and the African 
Civilization Society, had resolved to seize that opportu- 
nity for making known through a public meeting their 
principles and schemes. My friends in London thought 
it important that I should visit Glasgow at this time, and 
it vv^as hardly imagined, that as a friend of the Civiliza- 
tion Society,! should be be denied the privilege of express- 
ing the cordial interest felt by many thousands of my 
countrymen in the plan and movements of that Society. 
But the sins of the good and the follies of the wise would 
make a huge volume in the history even of living men. 

It is somewhat remarkable, that, in a city where typhus 
fever caused by extreme want is never absent; where 
sixteen thousand persons have individually in a single 



SPIRIT OF THE SCOTCH. 45 

year sought a night's lodging in the shelter for the house- 
less and been fed, (if supplied with food at all,) at an ex- 
pense of three pence each, per day, a purse of some nine 
hundred pounds was respectfully presented to Mr. George 
Thompson on his return from his abolition mission in 
the United States, and Mr. Garrison and his associates had 
been welcomed with shouts of applause, but a few weeks 
before my visit, in the chapel of Dr. Wardlaw. No- 
where, perhaps, on the Island of Great Britain, burns the 
fever of abolition, more intensely, than in Glasgow. The 
high and generous blood of the Scotch is stirred for li- 
berty, nor can they be severely censured, considering what 
appalling and horrid pictures of American oppression and 
cruelty have been held up by our countrymen before their 
eyes. Dr. Breckenridge, it is true, exerted himself with 
great ability, and some success, to correct the prevalent 
errors. But who can reason down the excited sympa- 
thies and passions of a Scotch audience influenced by the 
imagination of unparalleled wrongs against enslaved men 
in a remote and foreign land! Would that one-half of 
the sympathy and eloquence, now expended in Scotland in 
behalf of American slaves, were directed to her wretched 
and perishing poor ! No American is more alive than 
the writer, to the admirable qualities of the Scotch cha- 
racter, and it was painful to observe the best natural feel- 
ings perverted, and justice forgotten, through erroneous im- 
pressions of American institutions and American slavery. 
Although denied, through the illiberal policy of the 
gentlemen who controlled the proceedings of the African 
civilization meeting in Glasgow, the privilege of express- 
ing in the name of millions of my countrymen, tlieir 
heart-felt interest in its object, I subsequently invited 
some two hundred persons, (including all the clergy,) to 



46 MISSION. 

meet me, and to a small number of intelligent gentlemen, 
who complied with this invitation, explained the object 
of my visit to England, the views of the Colonization So- 
ciety, the state of Liberia, and read to them the valuable 
testmionies of Capt. Stoll and Governor Buchanan. With 
evident gratification, they thanked me for the information, 
but saw little benefit to be expected from a more public 
meeting at that time. I sought by private interviews with 
many respected persons to dispel the prevailing errors in 
regard to the Colonization Society and Liberia. Both 
here and at Edinburgh, I experienced great kindness and 
hospitality; and, in the latter city, so eminently endowed 
with the treasures of intelligence, social virtue, and the 
gifts and graces of Christianity, I found individuals still 
adhering to their faith in a society, by contributions to 
which, in former years, they were permitted to found a 
settlement, bearing the honored name of Edina upon the 
soil of Liberia. 

At a public meeting of the Abolitionists, during my 
stay in Edinburgh, Messrs. Birney and Stanton attended, 
and in connection with exaggerated statements of the 
cruelties of American slave-holders, Messrs. Scoble and 
llemond animadverted, emphatically, on the character of 
the Colonization Society. 

I assured the public, in a note addressed forthwith to 
the Editor of the Scotsman, that I was fully prepared to 
show that this Society is benevolent in its tendencies to 
all classes of the colored race ; that the free people of 
color in the United States, in opposing its influence, are 
opposing their own best interest and that of their whole 
race, both in America and Africa ; that as this Society is 
bound by its constitution to colonize only with the con- 
sent of the free people of color, and has always adhered 



RESOLUTION OF NEW YORK SOCIETY. 47 

to this obligation, the expression of opinion that it will 
be an advantage for this people to emigrate, no more 
infringes upon their liberty or rights than the expression 
of an opinion that they should remain in the United 
States ; and I trusted, before leaving that kingdom, to 
prove to candid minds that Liberia was a well founded, 
well governed, and rapidly improving Christian commu- 
nity of colored emigrants, animated by lofty motives, 
informed by the spirit of liberty and piety, contributing 
to the suppression of the slave trade, and the civilization 
of the native Africans ; and, finally, that the plan of the 
American Colonization Society agrees, in all its leading 
features, with that of Sir T. F. Buxton, and merited uni- 
versal approbation and generous and constant support. 

Before I left London, I had addressed a letter to Sir 
T. F. Buxton, yet, until some weeks after my return, late 
in September, received no reply. 

I had for some time been looking anxiously for an 
answer to my several communications, from the Execu- 
tive Committee or Board of Directors. I had promptly 
reported to them my proceedings, explained the state of 
the English mind in relation to my object, and souglit 
on all important points particular and ample instructions. 
It will be recollected that the New York Colonization 
Society had assumed, very generously, the expenses of 
this mission. Before the close of October, I received, 
through the kindness of the venerable Secretary of that 
Society, (writing under date of the 1st of that month,) a 
copy of the following resolution, which had, the pre- 
ceding evening, been unanimously adopted by its mana- 
gers : 

" Resolved^ That as the appointment of Mr. Gurley 
was under a commission from the Parent Society, at 



48 Missiox. 

Washington, and the Executive Committee have written 
officially to him, in relation to his proposal for an exten- 
sion of the time allowed for his remaining in England, 
tliis Board must decline acting in the case ; nevertheless, 
provided Mr. Gurley could raise funds in England for 
his support during a longer stay, it would be gratifying 
to us that he should so remain." 

Nearly at the same time came to hand the following 
preamble and resolution from the Executive Committee : 

" The letters of Mr. Gurley having been read, asking 
specific instructions on certain propositions, and involv- 
ing his protracted continuance in England, it was, on 
motion of Dr. Lindsley, 

" Resolved, That the Executive Committee do not feel 
authorised, or deem it expedient, to enter into any of the 
arrangements with the British African Civilization Soci- 
ety, or other British authorities suggested by Mr. Gurley, 
or to enlarge or contract the simple object for ivhich 
Mr. Gurley was commissioned by the Board of Directors 
to go to England : that they do not feel themselves 
authorised to extend the term of his absence furnished 
l)y the Board of Directors ; and that, if Mr. Gurley shall 
feel so far impressed with the expediency of continuing 
in England, to effect more fully the object had in view 
by the Board in sending him to England, as to induce 
him to transcend the term to which he was limited, the 
Committee leave it to Mr. Gurley to act on this point on 
Ills own responsibility to the Board of Directors, both 
for approval and for compensation." 

This resolution was enclosed in the letter herewith 
submitted from a respected personal friend in the Com- 
mittee : 



LETTER FROM COMMITTEE. 49 

"'Rev. R. R. Gurley^ Secretary^ <^c., S^^c: 

"My DEAR friend: I have been requested by the 
Executive Committee to enclose to you a resolution, 
expressive of their views with regard to the suggestion, 
in one of your late letters, of an extension of your visit 
to London, and also on the several inquiries contained 
in your communications relative to the expediency ot 
carrying out certain propositions set forth therein. 

"Several of those propositions were deemed very 
inexpedient — our construction of our constitution inhib- 
ited any action on others, and, indeed, so far as regarded 
your mission to England, we view it as an act of the 
Directors which we have neither a right nor the power 
to interfere with. 

" Advice often implies authority. Some of us, and I 
for one, were under the impression that, confining your- 
self strictly in setting forth the origin of our Society — 
in proclaiming its pure, peaceful, constitutional object — 
in giving a true history of our progress at home and in 
Liberia — in disabusing the minds of those who aim at 
the same object in regard to every thing connected with. 
our Society, and thus commanding the sympathy, if not 
the co-operation, of our Anglo-Saxon brethren: — In so 
doing, we anticipated much good. 

" We do not doubt that you have already done much 
to help us — nor do v/e doubt your prudence, if you were 
really informed as to how far your intercourse with 
these great and good men should carry you. 

"You well know the varied material of which the 
Board of Directors is composed. You also know how 
much some of them were opposed to your mission ; and 
desirous to act strictly, on this important question, within 
our powers, we felt constrained to adopt the enclosed as 
5 



50 MissioT*r. 

the alternative of our former resolutions already sent 
you, leaving you to settle all matters with the Directors. 

" You will remember that the Society meets on the 
22d of January, You considered your interests and 
feelings injured by the action of the new Board. Your 
presence, or certainly full representations, might be 
important to the Committee as well as to yourself. 

" If you should determine to stay, I can only say that 
you will find me, as I ever have been, your firm friend, 
and disposed to justify you in doing that which shall 
legitimately carry out our object. 

" From what I heard in conversation with Mr. Smith, 
(Wadsworth and Smith,) I should be led to believe that 
you could readily raise contributions enough for your 
expenses. 

" With great respect and friendship, 

" Washington, Sept. 22, 1840," 

To this resolution and letter I replied as follows : 

"LoNDOx, Oct. 29, 1S40. 
" To the Executive Comtnittee of the 

American Colonization Society: 

"Gentlemen: — I have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of your recent resolution, without date, en- 
closed in a letter from our respected friend, Mr. . 

" Although 1 am under the impression that the com- 
mittee are clothed, in the absence of the Directors, with 
full powers, and have therefore felt a little surprise at the 
purport of the resolution, yet I can feel no desire that 
they should assume responsibilities, except when they 
judge it expedient for the interests of the institution. 

" I should immediately return to the United States, did 



LETTER TO COMMITTEE. 51 

I not feel bound by regard to the interests of the cause 
of African colonization, to remain for a few weeks longer, 
and the reason's imposing this duty upon me, I now beg 
leave briefly to state to the gentlemen of the committee, 
and through them also to the Board of Directors. I must 
also beg that my former communications with the present 
one to the committee, may be submitted, at the earliest 
meeting of the Directors. 

" First. It has been impossible for me, as yet, to secure 
an interview with the general committee of the African 
Civilization Society, but such an interview may at no 
distant day be expected. The distinguished members of 
that committee have been absent from London ever since 
my arrival, but are now beginning to return. 

" Second. I addressed a letter some weeks since, to Sir 
T. F. Buxton, on the subject of the society, and have 
within a few days received his reply. To this letter, it 
is my purpose to make answer. 

" Third. At the earnest advice of Dr. Hodgkin, I visit- 
ed Scotland, during the great assemblage of learned and 
scientific men at Glasgow, at the British Association, and 
sought every possible opportunity of correcting the errors 
and misrepresentations which are universally afloat in 
regard to the Colonization Society and Liberia, and I 
wish to avail myself of the advantages which the forma- 
tion of an extensive acquaintance has given me fbr diffus- 
ing light and information on the general subject, and the 
great objects of my mission. 

" Fourth. There is a prospect that with time and pa- 
tience, the British Colonization Society, or at least a 
committee on the subject, may be organized, through 
whose influence pecuniary aid may be secured to the 
cause. But publications on the question are indispensa- 
ble preliminaries to any success. 



52 MISSION. 

" Fifth. It must be recollected that for the last seven or 
eight years, this whole empire has been given up to the 
Abolitionists ; that the Colonization Society and Liberia 
have been objects of their special hostility and reproach ; 
that American citizens have visited this Island, and are 
now here, to vilify the character of their own country, in 
connection with their inflammatory attacks upon slavery ; 
and that the formation of opinion in such a nation as this, 
is not the work of a day. 

" I beg leave to assure the gentlemen of the Committee 
and of the Directors, that to labor for the cause of African 
colonization, in England, even with all the support and 
encouragement, which my friends in America could give, 
would be no enviable task, but a sense of duty alone, to 
a cause very dear to my heart, and of great magnitude and 
importance to my judgment, would incline me to stay a 
moment, cut off from all pecuniary aid and with my en- 
thusiasm chilled by words of ' coldness and discourage- 
ment from the United States. I trust the Committee and 
Board will make due provision for the payment of my 
salary, to my family, as their circumstances at present 
demand my very special and sympathising attentions. 
" With the greatest respect, 

" I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
'' Your friend and servant, 

"R. R. GURLEY. 

I was favored with no further communications, either 
from the Committee or Directors ; from the latter I re- 
ceived not a line during my absence from the country. 

It may be pertinent to indicate, here, Avhat I deem erro- 
neous in the preceding resolutions and letter of the Com- 
mittee. 

" First, It will be seen by recurring to the resolutions 



1 



ERRORS OF COMMITTEE. 53 

of the Directors creating my appointment, that the time 
thereof was not in terms limited ; and, I add, understood, 
(at least by myself,) to be subject to the future considera- 
tion and decision of the Committee or Directors. 

" Second. I had never solicited the Committee or Di- 
rectors, (even had the time been limited,) to extend it, 
but merely expressed to the Committee my opinion, that 
no great results could be anticipated from an agency with- 
out time, patience and prudence, and that, if these were 
expected, the mission must be prolonged for several months, 
if not for a year. This opinion was submitted as an 
opinion merely, for consideration by the Committee, if 
competent to consider it, and if not, through them, to the 
Directors. 

" Third. It is remarkable, that while the Directors, in 
their resolution sanctioning the mission, direct that 1 
should ' proceed with all convenient despatch, with gen- 
eral discretionary powers under instructions from the 
Executive Committee., to communicate to the friends of 
African civilization in that country, the policy and views 
of this Society, to collect such information as may be 
valuable, to cement a friendly understanding and co-opera- 
tion, and to lay the foundations of an effective and har- 
monious action in the promotion of the benevolent ob- 
jects which the friends of Africa on both sides of the 
Atlantic, have at heart ; ' and while the Committee had 
transmitted certain instructions under the dates of June 
29th and July 27th, indicating no consciousness of want 
of authority, they should suddenly deem themselves 
unauthorized to consider propositions not designed to 
' enlarge or contract the simple object ' for which I was 
commissioned, but to carry out the very general object 
set forth in the resolution just quoted, of the Directors. 
5* 



54 MISSION. 

It is remarkable, also, that on the 27th of July, just as I 
arrived in London, the Committee felt authorized to give 
instructions relating to my movements after the com- 
pletion of my mission ; thus implying a fixed limit to 
what had been left undetermined ; but that on the 22d oi 
September, they felt unauthorized to do more than leave 
me, (in case I should transcend the term which they 
imagined limited,) to act on my own responsibility to the 
Directors, both for approval and compensation. 

In the letter enclosing this resolution, it is remarked : 
" Several of those propositions were deemed very inex- 
pedient; our construction of our constitution inhibited 
any action on others, and, indeed, so far as regarded your 
mission to England, we vievv^ it as an act of the Direc- 
tors, which w^e have neither a right nor the power to 
interfere with," 

The follov%-ing resolution of the Directors, bearing date 
Dec. 13, 1S3S, exhibits the powers conferred upon this 
Committee immediately after its formation : 

" Resolved^ That the Executive Committee be charged 
wdth the lousiness of appointing agents, and fixing their 
salaries, throughout the United States ; of superintending 
such expeditions as may be directed by the Board for tlie 
colony ; and carrying into effect the resolutions thereof^ 
and such otlier business as shall be necessary for the 
conducting the affairs of the Society in the absence of 
the Board from the city of Washington." 

To the Vv^'iter, it appears evident that the express lan- 
guage of the resolution of the Directors in my appoint- 
ment, directing me to proceed " under instructions from 
the Executive Committee," and also the charge originally 
given to tlie Committee ' to carry into effect the resolu- 
tions' of the Directors, not onlv authorized but bound the 



ERRORS OF COMMITTEE. 55 

Committee to extend to him their best counsels and all 
possible aid in accomplishing the objects of his mission. 

The public will judge whether the suggestions upon 
which I sought instructions in my letter of August 20, 
involved any plans or measures which would be deemed 
inhibited by a fair construction of the constitution of the 
Society. Several of the propositions indicated must be 
regarded, if not indispensable, highly important towards 
effecting the purpose enjoined by the Directors, viz : " to 
cement a friendly understanding and co-operation, and to 
lay the foundation of an effective and harmonious action 
in the promotion of the benevolent objects which the 
friends of Africa on both sides of the Atlantic have at 
heart." If the commission held by the writer under the 
authority of the Directors was conferred in violation of 
the constitution, certain legitimate means of effecting its 
ends must be regarded as at variance with that instrument ; 
but if the former was not opposed to it, neither were the 
latter. The Committee are not authorized, that I am 
aware, to give the interpretation of unconstitutionality to 
the acts and decisions of the Directors. 

" Fourth. The Committee having left me no alternative 
but either to return, before I had even opportunity to 
confer with the General Committee of the Civilization 
Society, or to remain in London on my own responsi- 
l)ility, I determined to stay, and transmitted to them my 
reasons, with a request that those, with my former com- 
munications, might be submitted at the earliest meeting, 
to the Directors. Is it not somewhat marvelous, that 
the Committee failed to invite immediately to my letters 
and suggestions the attention of the Directors ; especially 
as at the date of the last, a month was to elapse before 
the expiration of what the Committee erroneously sup- 



56 MISSION. 

posed the prescribed term of the mission ; unless the 
imagined term of four months commenced when I em- 
barked, instead of at the time of my arrival in London, 
which few will, I think, conclude to have been the case. 
Such an idea certainly never entered my own mind. 

If this Committee recognized no right nor authority in 
their general instructions to carry into effect the resolu- 
tions of the Directors, nor in the specific directions to 
that purpose, expressed in the resolutions of the writer's 
appointment ; if they felt restrained from deciding on the 
propriety of his stay or return ; if they left the responsi- 
bility of the continuance and proceedings of the mission 
with himself, subject for approval and compensation to 
the judgment of the Directors, it would seem but reason- 
able that the whole subject, (especially as in these pecu- 
liar circumstances he had been impelled by regard to the 
cause, to assume such responsibility until he could learn 
the views of the Directors,) should have been brought to 
their consideration without delay. 

It should be observed, that the Committee scrupled not 
to withhold what was due on my salary as Secretary^ 
after the 11th of October, (the annual amount having 
been fixed by the Board of Directors ;) that their Chair- 
man felt authorised to be present, and exert his influence 
against any further appropriation in behalf of the mis- 
sion, when the resolution of the New York Board, 
based upon that previously adopted by the Committee at 
Washington^ was under discussion ; that they thus cut 
off important resources from my family at home, and 
every chance of support from the United States for 
myself abroad ; and, finally, that they felt authorized, in 
the numbers of the African Kepository — the organ of 
their sentiments — first issued after my departure, to 



LETTER FROM A DIRECTOR. 57 

insert articles as well adapted to conciliate public favor 
in England, "to cement a friendly understanding and 
co-operation, and to lay the foundation of an effective 
and harmonious action in the promotion of the benevo- 
lent objects which the friends of Africa, on both sides of 
the Atlantic, have at heart," as are the pamphlets of the 
Abolitionists, to Avin over the reason and affections of 
the people of our Southern States. My only consola- 
tion was, that scarce a copy of the work found its way 
to England.* 

My circumstances in England, and the peculiar state of 
the public mind, rendered it expedient to resort, as far as 

* Under date of September 29, a respected member of the 
Board of Directors wrote that he had seen "the meagre and 
indefinite instructions of the Committee at Washington, which 
will be forwarded you ;" and added, " they seem disposed to throw 
all responsibility on yourself, except to prohibit your doing any 
thing." Again he observes : " The reasons on which opposition 
is felt strongly to your remaining, are : 1st. They seem to have 
no confidence in your success there, nor, indeed, in your negotia- 
tions either, for they apprehend mischief if you do any thing. 
At Washington, and here, I am sorry to say, this is the feeling, as 
you may infer from their action and correspondence. 

"But, 2d. The impression has been fixed that, even admitting 

your disclaimance of any participation in Mr. 's* scheme, 

which I regard as conclusive exoneration of yourself, and proof 
that the letter from us was uncalled for and unworthy of us, still 
it is alleged that you are seeking for yourself an appointment 
under Mr. Buxton ; and it is assumed, which I cannot believe 
without evidence, that after a life devoted to our service, you are 
about to identify yourself with the British interest, and sacrifice 
us and our noble enterprise in America! ! !" 

* The gentleman here alluded to, needs no vindication from the 
writer, or from any one. His exertions in the cause of humanity 
have been great, and he entertains no views unworthy of his high 
character and reputation. 



58 MISSION. 

practicable, to the press, as the means of correcting error 
and propagating truth on the subject of the American 
Colonization Society ; and I take the liberty of intro- 
ducing, as a part of this statement, a correspondence 
with Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, which appeared in the 
Morning Post of December 26, 1840. To the liberality 
of the conductors of that journal I am under very special 
obligations. 

CORRESPONDENCE 

BETWEEN SIR THOMAS F. BUXTON, BART., AND MR. GURLEY, 
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION 
SOCIETY. 

(No. 1.) 

London^ September 3, 1840. 

SiR: Since I had the honor of a personal interview, 
and submitted to your consideration the objects of my 
mission, as a representative of the American Coloniza- 
tion Society, to the friends of African civilization, and of 
the African race, in Great Britain, (among whom you, 
sir, are eminently distinguished,) I have become more 
deeply, if possible, than ever impressed with the impor- 
tance of a union (in sentiment at least) of the English and 
American mind, for the accomplishment of the vast and 
truly philanthropic scheme so ably developed in your 
recent work on the slave trade, and its remedy. 

My great respect for your understanding, and perfect 
confidence in your candor and benevolence, are all the 
apology I need offer for asking you, very respectfully, to 
consider how numerous and powerful must be the 
advantages which will be secured to the African Civiliza- 
tion Society, in this country, should its course be such 



i 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. 59 

as to command the regard and confidence of the great 
majority of the Americans, and especially of the wise 
and good men in the Southern States, upon whom mainly 
depends the improvement of the people of color in those 
States, and who possess such ample means of co-opera- 
tion, through the agency of these people, for the moral 
and intellectual renovation of Africa. 

You may, sir, I think, rest assured that in the opinions 
of the best men in all the Southern (or slave-holding) 
States of the American Union, in the undivided judgment 
of the south, so far as that judgment inclines to the ele- 
vation and freedom of the colored race, and in the gene- 
ral opinion of the north, the plan and policy of the 
American Colonization Society are deemed, for the pre- 
sent, as the chief plan and policy, most benevolent 
towards the colored race, tending to more good in all 
directions than any other for the same end which have 
arisen in the United States ; 

That all those in the south who desire the ultimate 
freedom of the slaves, are the friends of the American 
Colonization Society, and those who desire to perpetuate 
slavery are its opponents ; 

That the principal hope cherished in America of the 
abolition of African slavery in the United States arises 
from the opening prospects of civilization in Africa, and 
the establishment on her shore of communities or states 
of colored emigrants, free, self-governed, (or training to 
become such,) and Christian ; 

That as the prospect of an inviting home in Africa for 
the colored population of the United States appears more 
or less encouraging, the spirit of emancipation rises or 
declines ; 

That whatever may be the effect of tune, of reason, of 



60 MISSION. 

reflection, of the noble experiment of West India eman- 
cipation on the governing mind of the Southern States, 
any interference at present of societies exclusively 
northern or foreign in their organization, in the spirit 
of reproach or denunciation, to abolish slavery, but 
exasperates, and tends to array in hostility the northern 
and southern sections of our Union against each other, 
and to destroy all bonds of confidence and sympathy 
between the master and the slave ; 

That the vast scheme for Africa which you propose is 
approved by the American Colonization Society, is 
deemed very similar to their own, and, if wisely and 
vigorously prosecuted, must secure the freedom and hap- 
piness of the negro race in Africa, and, by means the 
most unexceptionable, I trust also throughout the world ; 

That there exist in the United States, some means for 
the advancement of this scheme to be found nowhere 
else ; and should bonds of sympathy be created betAveen 
the citizens of that country and the Society of which 
you, sir, may be regarded as the founder, a great gain 
would (at least so it appears to me,) be secured to the 
cause of humanity. At all events, may we not hope that 
in Africa, as we have a common object, there may be 
mutual kindness and co-operation ? 

This can require no abandonment of principle on 
either side. You have well said, "The field there is 
wide enough for the exertions of all, without jealousy 
or collision." 

All the experience of the Colonization Society will be 
cheerfully placed at your disposal. 

Before I have the honor of an introduction to your 
general Committee, I wish to be favored, if agreeable, 
with another personal interview with yourself. There 



CORRESPOXDENCE WITH BUXTON. 61 

are many points relating to the state of public sentiment 
in America, on the subject of slavery and the influence 
of the Colonization Society, which I should be happy in 
conversation to have the honor to explain, and the more 
so as I am informed that much excitement has been pro- 
duced in my own country by the proceedings of the 
recent Anti-slavery Convention in this city. It will 
afford me great pleasure if I can in any way, while in 
England, promote the interests of the African Civiliza- 
tion Society. I think the objections urged from various 
quarters against it have little force. It is a great and 
noble scheme you have proposed for the deliverance and 
happiness of millions. May your invaluable life be long 
spared to promote it. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Most respectfully, your obedient servant, 

R. R. GURLEY. 
Sir T. F. Buxton, Bart. 

(No. 2.) 

FROM SIR THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, BART., TO THE 
REV. R. R. GURLEY, SECRETARY TO THE AMERICAN 
COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

Sir : It is with real reluctance that I address you upon 
the subject of those plans for the African race which 
you so ably and (I doubt not from a conviction of their 
excellence,) so zealously advocate, but on which I find 
myself compelled to differ from you. Some observations 
which have appeared in certain late American publica- 
tions, as well as your letter of the 5th of September, 
seem to leave me no plea for silence, since it would be 
unfaithful to my views of truth, and unfair to you, were 
6 



62 MISSION'. 

I to withhold a renewed expression of my sentiment* 
with regard to the American Colonization Society. 

Before I enter upon it, however, let me thank you for 
the very friendly mention (far too flattering, indeed,) 
which you have made of me personally ; and let me 
again assure you that the difference of our opinions can- 
not alter my estimate of the sincerity of your desires for 
the good of Africa. 

My opinion of the tendency of the American Coloni- 
zation Society was, as you are aware, publicly given 
some years ago. IMy attention at that time was wholly 
directed to the question of existing negro slavery. The 
principles of emancipation were then progressing in our 
land, they were dawning in yours, and, believing the 
Colonization Society to be practically, if not theoreti- 
cally, an impediment to them, I joined with some of the 
most tried and experienced English Abolitionists in 
expressing my dissent. Since then the question of 
negro slavery having been, in our case, happily disposed 
of, my attention has been specially directed to the slave 
trade. A more close and accurate study has altered, or 
perhaps I should say enlarged, my opinions upon it, and 
upon the methods to be employed for its eradication. I 
can no longer believe in the efficacy of external force — 
I can no longer rest contented to abide the slow progres- 
sion of the principles of justice throughout the Morld. 
Persuaded, as I am, that the slave trade is as great a loss 
of wealth to the African, as it is a present gain to the 
European, I now think that the opening of the eyes of 
the former to the true economies of the case, offers a 
powerful means of abolishing the traffic ; and, while I 
would most joyfully aid in any method of checking the 
demand, and would also for a time continue our mea- 



CORRESPOXDENCE WITH BUXTON. bS 

siires of compulsion, I would lay by far the greatest 
stress on all those efforts which may tend to enlighten 
and civilize the African mind. 

These views have been represented as coming round 
to, and uniting with, those of the American Colonization 
Society, and a misapprehension, I perceive, exists in the 
minds of some of your countrymen with regard to our 
Civilization Societ}'^, even in denominating it a Coloniza- 
tion Society, This is a serious mistake. It is in spirit, 
as in name, a Society, not for the colonization, but for 
•the civilization of Africa. Our object is to civilize, not 
to colonize; not to make ourselves masters of the 
resources of that continent, but to teach its natives their 
use and value ; not to procure an outlet for any portion 
of our surplus population, but to show to Africa the folly 
as well as the crime of exporting her own children. It 
is true, I may be desirous that we should form settle- 
ments, and even that we should obtain the right of juris- 
diction in certain districts, because we could not other- 
wise secure a fair trial or full scope for our normal 
schools, our model farms, and our various projects to 
awaken the minds of the natives, to prove to them the 
importance of agriculture^ and to excite the spirit of 
commerce. But beyond the attaiimient of this object, I 
have no ulterior views ; it is no part of my plan to 
extend the British empire, or to encourage emigration to 
Africa, excepting so far as may be requisite for the bene- 
fit of that country. 

This is the distinct character and object of our Soci- 
ety. Your objects, as I understand them, profess to be, 
primarily, to abolish slavery in the United States, by 
gradually moving your whole black population to Afri- 



64 MISSION. 

ca ;* and, secondly, to benefit Africa, and check the slave 
trade, by establishing colonies of emancipated negroes 
along her coasts. 

Our professed objects, therefore, though akin, are not 
the same ; the field of your operation is primarily Ame- 
rica, that of ours Africa. But you will say that, since 
3-our Society collaterally aims at the same end as ours, 
we ought to give yours that support of name and influ- 
ence to which you are pleased to attach some impor- 
tance. We cannot do this ; and I Avill in a candid and 
friendly spirit state to you the reasons. But I must pre- 
mise that I am not prepared to say that Liberia, consti- 
tuted as it is, may not have been the means of spreading 
civilization, and thereby diminishing the slave trade, in 
Africa ; and, so far as the colony has this effect, it has 
my good wishes that it may continue to prosper. But 
even as regards Africa, there is a wide difference in our 
views. We wish to send to Africa but few persons, and 
these in the character of teachers. We wish them to be 
difhised as a leaven amongst her people, not to form 
colonies for their own advantage. It is my anxious wish 
to send to Africa none but those who are actuated by an 
ardent desire for her improvement, and on whose moral 
and religious principles we can rely. 

The purpose of your association is to collect colored 
people for emigration to Africa, without, if I mistake not, 
insisting on any very special regard to character or 

* The second article of the Society's constitution declares, that 
" The object to which attention is to be exclusively directed is, to 
promote and execute a plan for colonizing- (with their own con- 
sent,) the free people of color residing in our country, in Africa, 
or such other place as Congress shall deem most expedient." 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. 



65 



ability. When, however, we come to the American part 
of the question, I fear we shall be found to differ much 
more widely. There is nothing in your institution, 
abstractedly considered, to which I can object. If the 
free colored people desire to emigrate from their native 
soil, and to settle elsewhere, I can see no reason why 
you should not form a society to aid them in so doing ; 
and further, if they be ignorant of the benefit of such 
emigration, I can see no objection to your enlightening 
them as to its advantages. If confined to such aid and 
persuasion, your Society would at least be harmless, and 
probably beneficial. My objection, then, lies not so 
much against the principles of the Colonization Society, 
as set forth by the letter of its constitution, as against 
those which I find promulgated in the speeches and 
writings of its advocates, and against what I believe to 
be the practical tendency of the institution itself. I 
hardly need tell you that I am, in the fullest sense of the 
term, an " immediate Abolitionist," that I conscientiously 
believe that man can have no right to property in man, 
and that the restoration to freedom can in every country 
be effected without permanent injury to either party, and 
greatly to the eventual benefit of both master and slave. 
With this confession of my faith on this subject, how 
can I be expected to unite with a society which, by the 
mouth of its best advocates, and in almost all its public 
declarations, if it does not justify, yet palliates the 
iniquity of slavery ? which, allow^ing the system to be 
an evil, soothes the conscience of the slave-owner by 
maintaining it to be a necessary evil, obstructs the efforts 
of the Abolitionists by declaring immediate abolition to 
be impossible, which diverts attention from the great 
principles of truth on the subject, and, by holding out a 
6* 



66 Missiox. 

hope of emancipation, which too obviously will take 
centuries to realise, tends practically to rivet the fetters 
of the slave ? Further, I am of opinion that the strong 
line of demarcation attempted to be drawn betv/een 
%vhite and black is unjust, and not accordant with the 
Apostle's declaration that God " hath made of one blood 
all nations of men." How can I, then, support a society 
which acknowledges, excuses, and fosters this spirit of 
caste ? 

Again, I apprehend that your society, though doubtless 
unintentionally on the part of many of its members, has 
practically proved an instrument of oppression to the free 
blacks in your land. In order to induce them to emi- 
grate, various methods, more or less coercive, are resorted 
to. You have had every opportunity of displaying to 
them the advantages of the plan, yet throughout the 
Union they refuse to embrace it, or do so with extreme 
reluctance ; they persist in regarding Liberia rather as a 
place of exile than a desired home, and prefer their claim 
to live as free citizens in America. But I have still 
another objection. Were the free people of color even 
indiffeient, and as willing to go as to stay, I question 
whether, regarding the interest of the slave, it is a justifi- 
able measure to remove them. Those who have escaped 
from bondage ought to be the natural protectors of those 
of their color who still remain in slavery, and, I think, it 
is hard to press a plan to withdraw from those who have 
so few friends, their natural allies and ablest champions. 
The arguments employed for your scheme are, in them- 
selves, I must own, repulsive to me. Your language is, 
"Be abolition a duty or not, the slave States will not 
abolish slavery — cease, then, your struggle for the slave ; 
employ your benevolence for the free. Whether the feel- 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. 67 

ing against the colored man be a prejudice ar not, it is 
insurmountable. Assist, therefore, to remove him to 
another country." 

I grant that slavery and prejudice are now triumphant; 
but I deny that they will always remain so. It is my con- 
viction that " truth, by its own sinews, will prevail," and 
that its being borne down for the present is no argument 
why the efforts of its champions should be relaxed ; but, 
on the contrary, the strongest argument why they should 
be redoubled. I cannot take lower ground than this, and 
therefore it is that I cannot join in the Colonization So- 
ciety. Still, in making this declaration, I desire to ab- 
stain from any harsh, or even uncourteous expressions 
toAvards an institution which, though, as I think, adopt- 
ing a mistaken line, avows its aim to be the alleviation 
of human suffering. 

I can also feel for the slave-owner, and make allowance 
for the toils cast around him by habit, education, and 
circumstances ; but I must reiterate my firm opinion that, 
for nations as for individuals, the path of justice is the 
path of policy. I am persuaded, therefore, that the line of 
expediency adopted by the Colonization Society, though 
it may not appear to be the easiest, will not in the end be 
found either so safe or so short a way out of the difficul- 
ties of the case as the direct road of strict equity. 

And here, sir, allow me to express my hope that, since 
you possess unusual opportunities of conveying informa- 
tion to your fellow-countrymen, having the ear of the 
south as well as of the north, you may be disposed to 
acquaint yourself very accurately with the results of our 
experiment of emancipation for their benefit. You are, I 
am persuaded, no advocate for the vested right of man in 
the blood and sinews of his fellow man. You have re- 



68 MISSION. 

peatedly acknowledged that you are adverse to immediate 
abolition, only because you fear it would be a source of 
anarchy, and would entail misery on the negro himself, 
not because it might, for a time, involve a pecuniary loss 
to the master. Let me, then, entreat you to look at the 
actual condition of our West-India Islands. There you 
\vill find the utmost social order and political tran- 
quillity, and a peasantry as peaceable, and probably as 
moral, as any in the world. When you shall have con- 
vinced yourself of these facts, I do you the justice to be- 
lieve no arguments of mine v/ill be needed to induce you 
to employ your talents and influence in bringing them 
home to the minds of your countrymen. 

Before I conclude, let me express my cordial concur- 
rence in the hope " that in Africa," as Ave have similar, 
though not identical, objects, "there will be mutual kind- 
ness and co-operation ;" and let me assure you that I do 
not, by any means, underrate the aid of the American 
public. I still look for the assistance of all foes to the 
slave-trade, however w^e may differ in our views on any 
other points. Accept my thanks for the liberal manner 
in which you have imparted the results of your experi- 
ence in Africa, and believe me, Avith sincere respect. 
Yours faithfully, 
(Signed) T. FOWELL BUXTON. 

NoRTHREPs Hall, near Aylsham, 
Octoher 9, 1840. 

(No. 3.) 

London, Aot*. 7, 1840. 
Sir : Having been absent for several weeks from Lon- 
don, 1 have had the honor but recently of receiving your 
letter of the 9th of last month. The spirit of candor 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. • 69 

and liberality which pervades this commucication, is 
worthy of your high character, and will be justly appre- 
ciated by the members and friends of the American Colo- 
nization Society. 

It is hardly necessary for me to repeat that I approve 
of the scheme of the African Civilization Society, as 
developed in your recent able work, and deem it in its 
main features, so far as it relates to Africa, the same, or 
nearly so, with that of the American Colonization Soci- 
ety. It is true you draw some distinctions between these 
institutions in reference to their designs and operations 
in Africa. These distinctions may, if I correctly appre- 
hend your language, be reduced to two — first, that the 
Civilization Society proposes no settlements as a home 
or asylum for a surplus population, but such only as may 
be required for the benefit of Africa ^ and, second, that 
it is her anxious desire to send out such only as are 
actuated by an ardent purpose for her improvement, while 
the Colonization Society would found settlements that 
may prove inviting asylums to the colored population 
of the United States ; and in the next place, that this So- 
ciety insists on no very special regard to the character 
and ability of its emigrants. In respect to Africa, you 
admit their objects are nearly, if not entirely, the same — 
the suppression of the slave trade, and her civilization. 
In the chosen agents for efl?ecting these objects, free men 
of color, they agree. In the establishment of schools, 
and model farms, and legitimate commerce with the native 
tribes, and negotiations and treaties for the abolition of 
the traffic in slaves, they agree ; and I am happy to know 
that " you may be desirous that we (the Civilization So- 
ciety) should form settlements, and even obtain the right 
and jurisdiction in certain districts, because we could not 



70 MISSION. 

otherwise secure a fair trial or full scope for our normal 
schools, our model farms, and our various projects to 
awaken the minds of the natives, to prove to them the 
importance of agriculture, and to excite the spirit of com- 
merce." 

Several distinguished friends of the African Civiliza- 
tion Society have recently given their thoughts upon it 
to the public. Of course neither you, sir, nor the soci- 
ety over which you with such ability preside, are to be 
held responsible for their sentiments. Yet it is Avorthy 
of observation, that both Mr. Jeremie and Sir G. Stephen 
regarded the plan of your society as one of colonization. 
It is true, Mr. Jeremie condemns the American Coloniza- 
tion Society ; yet the Eclectic Review^ after quoting the 
severe but unjust remarks of this gentleman on that soci- 
ety, adds, '' Now, agreeing as Ave do in all that is here 
yaid, we think Mr. Jeremie leaves the case just where 
Mr. Gurley has put it, namely, that, in so far as they 
regard Africa, the two systems (the civilization and colo- 
nization) are one, so much so that they would be wholly 
one if America would let her two millions go free." Sir 
George Stephen expresses himself boldly and strongly on 
this point — " If we found settlements in Africa, coloni- 
zation must follow ; wherever the British flag is raised, 
thousands and tens of thousands will seek protection 
under it ; it is sheer hypocrisy to pretend that this is not 
the consequence of our civilization plan, if fairly carried 
out ; and therefore I do most deeply regret the postpone- 
ment of a legislative, or, at least, an official declaration 
of the principles on which the civil government of all 
British possessions in Africa will hereafter be conducted." 

Whether the settlements proposed be more or less 
extended, I must be permitted to express my entire con^- 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BLXTON. 71 

viction that their benefit to Africa will greatly depend 
upon their organization into communities, with laws and 
government founded upon their choice or consent, and 
mostly administered by themselves, and, so far as the 
establishment of such communities or colonies is not 
contemplated by the Civilization Society, I must regard 
its scheme as defective. Your own idea of forming settle- 
ments, and acquiring jurisdiction over certain districts of 
country, settlements composed principally of free persons 
of color, permanent it is to be presumed, includes, it would 
seem to me, the main elements and principles developed 
in the colonization of Liberia, unless all political power 
is to be withheld from these settlements, which would be 
very detrimental to their influence and prosperity. Models 
of good political and social institutions are of infinite 
importance to Africa; nor could you if you would, nor 
would you if you could, limit the emigration of enter- 
prizing colored men to those settlements, allured thither 
by prospects of profitable agriculture, of gainful and law- 
ful trade, of honorable distinctions or of extended use- 
fulness. And surely, while the civilization of Africa 
affords the strongest motive to your society, I see not 
why a due measure of regard should not be extended to 
those who devote themselves as permanent settlers on 
her soil, and from whom, as from small and weak begin- 
nings, may arise the power and grandeur of states and 
empires. 

But your society would send out such persons only as 
are actuated by an ardent desire for the improvement of 
Africa, and the Colonization Society shows no special 
regard to the character and ability of its emigrants. To 
say nothing here of the extreme difficulty of planting 
settlements with sufficient numbers by persons animated 



72 MISSION. 

exclusively by the high motives of religion, or of the 
question whether feeble communities of this character 
will prove of the same benefit to Africa as larger ones of 
a less pure and unmixed description, you may rest assur- 
ed that the Colonization Society has not been regardless 
of the moral character of its emigrants ; that the decidedly 
incapable and vicious are, when known to be such, ex- 
cluded from its aid ; and that from the first, the Directors 
have sought to impress the minds of those about to em- 
bark for Liberia, with the greatness of their responsibili- 
ties to their posterity, their race, and their God, and to 
provide the best means for their intellectual and moral 
improvement, and for the education of their children ; to 
animate them with the spirit of industry, enterprize, so- 
briety, and liberty ; and, in fine, to make them realize 
that to no people has Heaven ever entrusted interests 
more precious than to them, inasmuch as an almost 
boundless territory and millions of barbarians may by 
their influence be reclaimed, and a free state and common- 
wealth of Christians tower above the frowning wilderness 
and more horrible superstitions of Africa. And what is 
the actual condition, what the moral influence, of that 
colony ? And here it may be pertinent to allude to the 
sentiments cherished by the citizens of Liberia towards 
the American Colonization Society. On the 29th of Sep- 
tember, 1836, in pursuance of public notice, the citizens 
of Monrovia (the principal town of the colony) assem- 
bled to express their opinions of the scheme of coloni- 
zation. The following, among other resolutions, were 
adopted : 

On motion of Mr. H. Teage : — 

" Resolved^ That this meeting regard the Colonizing 
Institution as one of the highest, holiest, and most bene- 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. 73 

volent enterprises of the present day ; that as a plan for 
the amelioration of the colored race it takes the prece- 
dence of all that have been presented to the attention of 
the modern world ; that in its operations it is peaceful 
and safe — in its tendencies beneficial and advantageous ; 
that it is entitled to the highest veneration and unbound- 
ed confidence of every man of color ; and that what it 
has already accomplished demands our devout thanks to 
those noble and disinterested philanthropists that com- 
pose it, as being, under God, the greatest earthly bene- 
factors of a despised and depressed portion of the human 
family." 

" Whereas it has been widely and maliciously circu- 
lated in the United Slates of America that the inhabitants 
of this colony are unhappy in their situation, and anxious 
to return :" 

On motion of the Rev. B. R. Wilson : 

''''Resolved^ That this report is false and malicious, 
and originated only in a desire to injure the colony, by 
calling off the support and sympathy of its friends ; that, 
so far from a desire to return, we would regard such an 
event as the greatest calamity that could befall us." 

On motion of the Rev. Amos Herring : 

'"'Resolved^ That this meeting entertains the deepest 
gratitude to the members of the Colonization Society for 
the organization and continuance of an enterprise so 
noble and praiseworthy as that of restoring to the bless- 
ings of liberty hundreds and thousands of the sore- 
oppressed and long-neglected sons of Africa; that we 
believe it the only institution that can, under existing 
circumstances, succeed in elevating the colored popula- 
tion; and that advancement in agriculture, mechanism, 
7 



74 511 ss ION. 

and science will enable iis speedily to aspire to a rank 
with the other nations of the earth." 

That the emigrants have been judiciously selected, or. 
if not, have been placed in circumstances to acquire the 
dispositions and abilities for the successful discharge of 
their duties, must be clear, if they prosper and exert an 
extensive influence for the suppression of the slave trade 
and the civilization of Africa. As a body, they have 
indeed been chosen with some care, and their new cir- 
cumstances have powerfully contributed to improve and 
elevate their character. The testimony I adduce con- 
cerning both, is of recent date, and from entirely authen- 
tic sources. The present Governor, Mr. Buchanan, a 
gentleman personally known to me, and of the highest 
integrity, in a letter, dated the present year, to that emi- 
nent philanthropist, Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, observes, " It 
has been said, both in America and England, that the 
colonists were not unfavorable to the slave trade, and, in 
proof of it, some isolated fact, such as I have mentioned, 
is adduced as conclusive. The mode of proof is as 
unfair as the charge is false. The general voice of the 
colony has ever been loud against the slave trade, nor 
has any individual directly participated in it. Indeed, I 
am confident that the penalty of the law against it, which 
is death, would have been inflicted on any one who 
would have dared to violate it, even during the period I 
have alluded to." Again, " No fact is more notorious 
along the coast than the uncompromising hostility of the 
colony to the slave trade. There is one aspect of the 
case of peculiar interest to the poor native, in reference 
to which, if his testimony cannot be heard, his conduct 
may at least be quoted. The colony is an asylum to the 



CORRESrOXDENCE WITH BUXTOiN". 75 

oppressed and enslaved of all the tribes around it. Here 
they flee from the storms of war and the horrors of 
bondage, in the full confidence of protection and safety. 
The whole history of the colony, almost from the first 
day of its existence, is crowded with instances. Some 
of the most interesting and memorable character have 
occurred during my residence here. At one time, during 
the month of July last, a king, with several hundreds of 
his people, the wretched remnant of a once powerful 
tribe, fled to us for protection against a merciless foe, 
who liad ravaged his country for the purpose of making 
a whole nation slaves. Numbers were killed and many 
more captured, and the fugitives were closely pursued to 
the very boundary of the colony, but the moment they 
passed it they were safe and free. The enemy, though 
flushed with victory, and thirsting for victims, dared not 
pursue them into our territory. These and many hun- 
dreds more who have in like manner escaped from the 
knife and the chain, are now living on the lands of the 
colony in peace, secure from all their foes." Equally 
decided is the testimony of Governor Buchanan to the 
beneficial influence of the colony in exciting desires, 
among the native population, for the comforts and conve- 
niences of civilized life, in arousing their industry, 
awakening emulation, and by exhibiting the order and 
harmony of well organized society, the mildness and 
justice of good government, and the blessed influences 
of Christianity on the social and political relations of 
life, impressing their minds with the value and dignity of 
knowledge, civilization, and our holy religion. " I do 
not mean to say," he adds, " that there are no exceptions 
to this general good influence, nor that the natives are all 
at once raised to the desired standard; far from it. 



76 MISSIO-N". 

There are counteracting causes found among the colo- 
nists, and the superstition and indolence, the ignorance 
and degradation, of the natives are immense barriers to 
their improvement. But this I can say, the adverse 
influences at work in the colony are weak and limited, 
while the good are many and powerful ; and as to the 
natives, while a respectable number have put on the garb 
of civilization, and are making rapid advances in the 
knowledge and practice of true godliness, the mass are 
in the way of improvement. They generally are anxi- 
ous for schools and religious teachers, and are making 
commendable efforts in acquiring the arts of civilized 
life. The work is one of time, but it is begun, and will 
go on with ever-increasing rapidity to its complete and 
glorious consummation." 

Capt. Stoll, of the Royal navy, who, if I mistake not, 
visited the colony in the present year, in his letter of the 
17th of July, to Dr. Hodgkin, after avowing the belief 
that it promises to be the only successful institution of 
the sort, "keeping in view its objects — that of raising 
the emancipated slave into a free man, preparing him for 
the exercise of civil liberty in all its various branches, 
from the Governor to the laborer, the extinction of the 
slave trade, and the religious and moral improvement of 
Africa at large " — testifies to the contentment, industry, 
and generally moral and religious character of the colo- 
nists, their good management of public affairs, and that 
'* no one in the remotest degree connected with the slave 
trade is allowed ever to communicate with Liberia." He 
speaks of missionaries as being in a course of prepara- 
tion for their work, and of the schools as creditable 
when the small means of the people are considered. 
"The colonists, with few exceptions," Ave quote his 



■ CORRESPONDEXCE WITH BUXTO.V. 77 

words, ^' are all members of churches, and I can safely 
lestify, that a more orderly, sober set of people I never 
met witli. I did not hear an miproper or a profane 
expression during my visit. Spirits are excluded in 
most, if not all, the settlements. They have formed 
themselves into various societies, such as agricultural, 
botanical, mechanical, for promoting Christian know- 
ledge ; also a ladies' society for clothing the poor," 8cc. 
Finally, he concludes with this remark — " I went there 
unbiassed, and left it with a conviction that colonies on 
the principle of Liberia ought to be established as soon 
as possible, if we wish to serve Africa." But allow 
me to add a few facts, gathered from the recent report 
of the New York Colonization Society and from late 
numbers of The African Repository. Hundreds of 
native Africans, some recaptured by the authorities of 
the United States, when about to be consigned to per- 
petual slavery, and placed in Liberia by the humanity of 
the American Government, others rescued from slave 
factories by the colonists themselves, are now industri- 
ous citizens on its soil, capable of managing their own 
affairs, and enjoying the benefits of education and the 
light of Christianity. More than thirty kings and head- 
men have, by treaty v/ith the colonial Government, 
renounced the slave trade. Several tribes have placed 
themselves under the protection of the colony, and look 
for redress of their grievances to its laws and tribunals. 
Some of the chiefs, who have abandoned the slave trade, 
are turning increased attention to the cultivation of the 
soil : new seeds, plants, fruits, and agricultural imple- 
ments have been introduced, their young men are taught 
the mechanic arts, and the whole people are stimulated by 
powerful motives of example and interest to improvement. 
7* 



78 



MISSION". 



And must not reflection on these statements — in con- 
nection with the fact that, under the shield and through 
the gates of this colony, introduction has been given to 
about sixty missionaries (including ordained ministers and 
teachers) into this region of Africa, where, before its ori- 
gin, not one Avas to be found ; that several seminaries for 
education in letters and the mechanical arts have been 
founded, native languages reduced to writing, books and 
tracts in those languages issued from the press, and that 
at a single station are fifty-nine hopeful African converts 
to the faith of Christ — prompt every disciple of the Savi- 
our to acknowledge that a good Providence has guarded 
there the dawning light from extinction, and made Liberia, 
even in its early growth, fruitful in blessings ? Sir, many 
of the founders of this colony, in faith, hope, charity, and 
patience, have labored and died,; but chey have left a 
monument to their praise, on that shore, indestructible. 
We see in Liberia a well modelled, well-proportioned re- 
public of colored men ; a miniature republic, it is true, but 
destined, we trust, to a rapid growth, adorned not only by 
the abodes of civilized men, but by the villages, schools, 
churches, legislative halls, judicial tribunals, all the social 
and political institutions of a free and Christian people, 
kindling to enthusiasm by the spirit of liberty, and aspir- 
ing to extend far over Africa the wisdom and beneficence 
of their manners and laws. Under their protection the mis- 
sionaries of many communions are assembling to devise 
and execute plans for tlie regeneration of Africa. Super- 
stition retreats before them ; and her victims, dejected, 
in iron bound, and shorn of honor, come forth from clay- 
built huts, from forests, dens, and mountain caves, to hear 
those Divine words of mercy which shall turn them from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. 79 

But I may have occupied too much space on this part 
of the subject. You seem disposed to admit that Liberia 
lias been the means of spreading civilization, and thereby 
diminishing the slave trade, and to cherish wishes for its 
prosperity ; yet, in regard to what you term the " Ameri- 
can part of the question," you imagine, sir, a wide, if not 
an irreconcilable, difference between us. I am happy to 
observe, that to the Colonization Society in itself, or as its 
purpose and policy are developed in its constitution, you 
have no objection. " There is nothing," you remark, 
^' in your institution, abstractedly considered, to which I 
can object. If the free colored people desire to emigrate 
from their native soil, and to settle elsewhere, I can see 
no reason Avhy you should not form a society to aid them 
in so doing ; and, further, if they be ignorant of the benefit 
of such emigration, I can see no objection to your enlight- 
en'm<r them as to its advantao-es." 

" if confined to such aid and persuasion your Society 
would at least be harmless, and probabh' beneficial." 

Some surprise, I confess, I have felt at tliese admissions, 
since, in referring to the scheme of the Society, as set forth 
in the second article of its constitution, v/hich declares 
that " the object to which its attention is to be exclusively 
directed is to promote and execute a plan for colo- 
nizing, with their own consent, the free people of color 
residing in our country in Africa, or such other place 
as Congress shall deem most expedient," you interpret 
this object to be, primarily^ to abolish slavery in the 
United States, by gradually moving your whole black 
population to Africa; and secondarily^ to benefit Africa 
and check the slave trade, by establishing colonies of 
emancipated negroes along her coast; and declare yo\u- 
objection to its practical tendency, among other reasons, 



so MISSION. 

" because it directs attention from the great principles of 
truth and justice on the subject, and, by holding out a 
hope of emancipation, which too obviously will take cen- 
turies to realize, tends practically to rivet the fetters of the 
slave ;" and, further, because, " were the free people of 
color even indifferent, and as willing to go as to stay, you 
question whether, regarding the interests of the slaves, it is 
a justifiable measure to induce them to remove." "Those," 
you add, " who have escaped from bondage ought to be 
the natural allies and protectors of those of their color 
who remain in slavery, and I think it hard to press a plan 
to withdraw from those who have so few friends, their 
natural allies and ablest protectors." 

If the very scheme of the Society be a delusion, tend- 
ing to rivet the fetters of bondage — if to present as reasons 
for emigration to the free people of color the advantages 
of this scheme, to themselves, and through them to their 
Avhole race, by the civilization of Africa (for in no other 
way has the plan been pressed upon them,) be unjustifi- 
able, considering their relations and duties to the slaves, 
1 see not how the Society might, upon any hypothesis, 
" be harmless, and probably beneficial." Yet, with my 
own convictions that to encourage manumission by co- 
lonization is among the most effectual means at present of 
promoting general emancipation, and that the establish- 
ment, b}^ our free people of color, of civilized and Chris- 
tian institutions in Africa, and the exaltation of their own 
character by so great a work, will most effectually con- 
tribute to the interests and ultimate freedom of the slaves, 
I should, even had I adopted the principles of immediate 
abolition, sustain the Colonization Society. 

I am persuaded that the American Colonization Society 
(whether the doctrine of immediate abolition as a universal 



CORRESPO-XDENCE WITH BUXTON. 



81 



doctrine be true or false, and as such a doctrine, unless 
confined simply to the mental renunciation of a right to 
regard man as mere property, and the recognition of his 
right to equal benevolence with other human beings, it 
appears demonstrably false,) with all the other errors 
which may exist among its individual members, has adopt- 
ed, and is executing a policy more conducive than any 
other which can at present be adopted by any organized 
society in the United States for the benefit of the colored 
race. 

On the whole subject of American slavery and the 
American Colonization Society, the darkest errors and 
misrepresentations, you will permit me to say, prevail ex- 
tensively in England. 

" I am persuaded, therefore," you remark, " that the line 
of expediency adopted by the Colonization Society, though 
it may now appear to be the easiest, will not in the end be 
found either so safe or so short a way out of the difficulties 
of the case as the direct road of strict equity." But if Chris- 
tianity enjoins the doctrine of expediency as, in many 
cases, the only rule of strict equity — if the Civilization 
Society think it right, because expedient, rather to attack 
the slave trade in Africa than devote all their resources 
and energies to secure the triumph of the principles of 
justice throughout the world — the Colonization Society 
may plead in its defence the authority of the Civilization 
Society and of the Divine word. 

The golden rule of our Saviour, justly pronounced by 
Lord Bacon the perfection of the la.w of nature and 
nations, holds authority over man in all conditions, rela- 
tions and times, yet in most cases the reason and con- 
science of the individual or society must, under responsi- 
bilities to the lawgiver, decide upon the particular mode 



82 



MISSIOiV. 



of obedience. The existence of tlie obligation of reci- 
procal benevolence, imposed by this law, between man 
and mar. in all possible circmnstances — a benevolence 
constant and enlarged as self-love — is to be recognized, 
yet the modes of expression or conduct thereby required 
vary endlessly as the relations and circumstances of 
human beings. This obligation is the sole foundation of 
human rights, and, except where human actions are defined 
and restrained by less general and more specific precepts, 
involves the whole doctrine of Christian discretion, as in- 
culcated by the Saviour, and exemplified in the practice of 
his apostles. 

" Nothing," says the great Edwards, "can be more evi- 
dent from the New Testament (alluding to the introduc- 
tion of things new and strange into the Church) than that 
such things ought to be done with great caution and mod- 
eration, to avoid the offence that may thereby be given, 
and the prejudice that might be raised to clog and hinder 
the progress of religion ; and the apostles avoided teach- 
ing the Christians in those early days, at least for a great 
^yhile, some high and excellent truths, because they could 
not bear them yet." " And how did Christ himself, while 
on earth, forbear so plainly to teach his disciples the doc- 
trines of Christianity concerning his satisfaction, and the 
}>articular benefit of his death, resurrection, and ascension, 
because in the infant state in which the disciples then 
were, their minds were not prepared for such instructions.- 
' I have many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear 
them now.' These things might be enough to convince 
any one w-ho does not think himself wiser than Christ 
and his apostles, that great prudence and caution should 
be used in introducing things into the church of God that 
are very uncommon, though in themselves they may he 



CORRESPO.NDENCE WITH BUXTON. 83 

very excellent^ lest by our rashness and imprudent haste 
we hinder religion much more than help it." 

Unless in the application of the Saviour's golden rule, 
Christian discretion, as here enforced by Edwards, both 
from Divine and apostolic example, is in most cases to be 
exercised, the language and conduct of Christ enjoining 
wisdom and harmlessness of action, and accommodation, 
as far as consists with integrity, to the circumstances, 
habits, and prejudices of mankind, seems unintelligible. 
Indeed, no doctrine in moral or physical science is more 
entirely settled in my own mind than that expediency, 
controlled and directed by the more general law of recip- 
rocal benevolence, as already explained, must be our only 
guide on all questions involving the interests of the colored 
and white races in America. To deny this doctrine, and, 
independent of all circumstances and consequences, to 
demand immediate emancipation and social and political 
equality for the black race, in compliance with the claims 
of what is called abstract justice, is Jacobinism, and, the 
principle carried legitimately out, would subvert the gov- 
ernment of England and every government in Europe. 
" If it be contrary," said Mr. Calhoun recently in the 
Senate of the United States, " to the laws of nature and 
nations for man to hold man in subjection individually, 
is it not equally contrary for a body of men to hold ano- 
ther in subjection } If man individually has an absolute' 
right to self-government, have not men aggregated into 
states or nations an equal right ? If there be a difference, 
is not the right the more perfect in a people or nation 
than in the individuals who compose it ? " Again, he 
adds, " We behold a small island, in the German ocean, 
under the absolute control of a few hundred thousand 
individuals, holding in unlimited subjection not fewer 



84 MISSION. 

than one hundred and fifty millions of human beings, 
dispersed over every part of the globe, making not less 
than two hundred to each of the dominant class ; and yet 
that class propagating a maxim with more than missionary 
zeal, that strikes at the foundation of this mighty power. 
I would say to her, and to other powers impelled by like 
madness, you are attempting what will prove impossible. 
You cannot make a monopoly of a principle so as to 
vend it for your own benefit. It will be carried out to 
its ultimate results, when its re-action will be terrific on 
your social and political condition. Already it begins to 
show its fruits. The subject mass of your population, 
under the name of Chartists, are now clamoring for the 
benefit of the maxim as applied to themselves. It is but 
the beginning." 

The great object, you, sir, will agree, to be attained, 
is the freedom, and happiness of the colored race. 

I regard the policy of the Colonization Society most 
conducive of any, at present, to this end — 

1. Because it tends to unite the northern and southern 
States. In the stability and influence of the federal union 
are involved the best hopes of the slaves. That union 
favors the cause of liberty, and whatever would weaken 
it is hostile to the cause of emancipation for the slave, 
and to the cause of freedom throughout the world. To 
strengthen and perpetuate this union is vitally important 
to the interests of all races in America, and to humanity. 

2. If the doctrine of immediate and unconditional 
emancipation be the true doctrine, the southern States are 
not prepared to receive it, and to press it now upon them 
from abroad, tends to throw them upon the alternative 
of no emancipation. The policy of the Colonization 
Society has extended and deepened convictions in the 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH BUXTON. S5 

southern mind in favor of gradual and final emancipation, 
and is thus approaching, if it do not at once reach, the 
desired end. Men of all opinions on slavery, and from 
all the States, exchange thoughts in a spirit of concilia- 
tion on the subject, and, if it urges not the true doctrine, 
it prevents the adoption of one most opposite to it ; if it 
proposes only a palliative and not a remedy for slavery, 
it is preparing the way for such a remedy. 

3. Because it aims to secure for the negro race of 
America, the highest good, as a people, to which they can 
aspire — a good beyond and above mere emancipation — 
an unembarrassed and advantageous position — an inde- 
pendent and national existence. Were emancipation to 
occur in the United States to-morrow, the chief reasons 
for African colonization would continue in unimpaired 
and even augmented vigor. The candition of the black 
race must be for centuries, as has been said, like that of 
the germ springing from the acorn at the foot of the parent 
tree, overshadowed and withered by the power and influ- 
ence of the whites. To blend the races were undesirable 
if possible, and impossible if desirable. No law of morals 
binds men to such a result, nor, in the judgment of the 
wisest and best people in the United States, any law of 
expediency. To limit influence and exertions to such an 
end, would be to annihilate the grealisst reason for sus- 
taining the Colonization Society, namely. 

In the 4th place, because it connects the moral and 
intellectual elevation of the colored population of America 
with the improvement of their race in Africa, making them 
the agents of incalculable good, not to themselves and 
posterity alone, but to the perishing millions of the most 
afflicted and barbarous quarter of the globe. 

The speeches and writings of the founders of the 



86 MISSION. 

American Colonization Society, prove that it was limited 
in its direct benefits by the terms of its constitution to 
the free, not from disregard to the welfare of the slaves, 
or other portions of their race, but from a conviction that 
such limitation would, in its ultimate consequences, be 
the means of amplest and richest blessings to the colored 
population of the world. The late General Harper, in 
his letter to the Society, published in its first two reports, 
and Mr. Clay, in his early and able speeches in its sup- 
port, view the principle it developes, and the plan it has 
adopted, capable of indefinite application and extension, 
and worthy to be prosecuted, on a large scale, by the 
States ; and with the consent of the States interested, by 
tlie general government, in regard to emancipation and 
the restoration of those liberated, with their own consent, 
to their ancient mother country ; there to found civiliza- 
tion and free Government, and, by their arts, enterprize, 
and Christianity, redeem Africa from her cruel supersti- 
tions and iron bondage, and raise her to life, importance, 
respectability, and a name among the nations of the earth. 
"Cast your eyes," said General Harper, alluding to 
Africa, " on this vast continent. What a field is here 
presented for the blessings of civilization and Christianity, 
which colonies of civilized blacks aflbrd the best and 
probably the only means of introducing ! These, com- 
posed of blacks already instructed in the arts of civilized 
life and the truths of the Gospel, judiciously placed, well 
conducted, and constantly enlarged, will extend gradually 
into the interior, will form commercial and political con- 
nections with the native tribes in their vicinity, will 
extend those connections with tribes more and more 
remote, will incorporate m^any of the natives with the 
colonies, and, in their turn, make establishments and set- 



C0RRESPOi\DEi\CE WITH BUXTOX. 87 

dements among the natives, and thus difHise all around 
the arts of civdization, and tlie benefits of literary, moral, 
and religious instruction." " We may," said Mr. Clay, 
"boldly challenge the annals of human nature for the 
record of any human plan for the amelioration of the 
condition and advancement of the happiness of our race, 
which promised more unmixed good or more compre- 
hensive beneficence than that of African colonization, if 
carried into full execution. Its benevolent purpose is 
not limited to the confines of one continent, nor to the 
prosperity of a solitary race, but embraces two of the 
largest quarters of the earth, and the peace and happiness 
of both of the descriptions of their present inhabitants, 
with the countless millions of their posterity, who are to 
succeed." 

To the free people of color of the United States, (now 
some four or five hundred thousand,) and to those who, 
from among the slaves, there, shall be added to their num- 
ber, must philanthropy, in my judgment, especially look, 
as to the elected agents of Providence for the redemption 
of Africa. Once aroused to a sense of the grandeur of 
their destiny, impelled alike by interest and duty to re- 
possess the magnificent land from which their progenitors 
were cruelly forced into exile, they will at no distant day 
return thither, bearing with them our arts, language, and 
the records of a pure religion, and animated with a gen- 
erous enthusiasm to found upon that shore of crime and 
ruin, free states and the church of God. Thus will they 
redeem themselves and their race from degradation and 
dishonor. It is by self-exertion that a people, like indi- 
viduals, rise to greatness and renown. 

Sir, when I consider my own country, I cannot despair 
, of Africa. From a system of colonization, commenced 



»y MISSION. 

under circumstances most discouraging, two centuries 
ago, at Plymouth and Jamestown, has arisen the republic 
of North America, already embracing twenty-six States 
and a population of nearly twenty millions, commanding 
respect on every sea and every land, rearing the tro- 
phies of victorious enterprize, the monuments of her 
beneficence and power, at the very base of the Rocky 
mountains, and destined before this generation shall have 
passed away, to cover their western declivities with the 
habitations of civilized men. 

Let the friends of Africa in England and America, and 
throughout Christendom, unite, do justice to the motives 
of each other, and, as far as practicable, co-operate in 
aiding her long exiled children to return to her bosom, 
to heal her wounds, raise her from disgrace, become the 
teachers of their brethren, and avail themselves of the 
resources of her soil, the commerce of her rivers, and 
the treasures of her mines, and the mariner, two centuries 
hence, as he guides his ship along her shore, will be 
cheered by the light of her cities, and everywhere see 
tlie evidences and hear the sounds of a free^ an enlight-. 
ened, and a happy people. 

Pardon me for having extended to such a length these 
remarks ; I might say much more ; I could not well have 
said less. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

with profound respect, 

your friend and servant, 

biR T. F. BuxTox. R. R. GURLEY. 

Anxious to obtain, without delay, an interview with 
tlie General Committee of the African Civilization Soci- 
ety. I repeatedly expressed my desire to the Secretary of 



INTERVIEW WITH CIVILIZATION COMMITTEE. 89 

iliat institution, but no opportunity occurred before the 
3(1 of December. In the mean time, I sought, on all 
proper occasions, among those to whom I had been 
introduced, to dispel the erroi-s which had been propa- 
gated by the enemies of the Colonization Society, and 
make evident, its philanthropic character. The meet- 
ing of the General Committee, on the 3d of Decem- 
ber, was attended by Sir T. F. Buxton, (in the chair,) 
Dr. Lushington, Sir Robert Inglis, William Allen, Dr. 
ilodgkin, and many others of honorable fame in the 
cause of humanity. 

To this Committee I stated, concisely, the object of 
my visit to London *, spoke of the attacliment felt by 
thousands in the United States to the scheme of their 
association ; of the interest awakened by the able work 
on the slave trade, and its remedy ; of the origin, princi- 
ples and success of the American Colonization Society ; 
described the condition and prospects of Liberia ; urged 
very explicitly and decidedly the opinion, that in so far 
as the Civilization Society did not aim to found perma- 
nent colonies of free colored persons, destined ultimately 
to a distinct and independent political existence, its po- 
licy and efforts were defective ; assured them of the 
wish of the great body of American Colonizationists 
to maintain kind relations and co-operation with the 
friends of Africa in England, in what they deemed, in its 
general nature, one and the same great work of benefi- 
cence ; and, finally, submitted a definite proposition for 
the extension, prospectively, of the Liberian territory as 
far south and east as the river Assinee, or even to Axim. 
The following letter, addressed to the President of the 
Colonization Society and the Board of Directors, con- 
8* 



90 MiSSIOiV 

tains a brief report of this interview with these gentle- 
men of the Civilization Society : 

" LoNDOiY, Decemher 19, 1840, 

•4VIy dear sir : I have the honor to transmit to your- 
self, and through you, to the Board of Directors of the 
American Colonization Society, several manuscript docu- 
ments, and three or four printed letters, which will show 
in part, how 1 have been employed since the date of my 
last communication, directed to M. St. Clair Clarke, Esq., 
for the Society. 

" In former letters, I have stated the causes which 
retarded, for many weeks after my arrival in England., 
operations to accomplish the objects of my mission ; and 
at present I am able to report nothing of great impor- 
tance, in addition to what will be found in the accompa- 
nying papers. 

"• It is matter of regret, that the erroneous impressions. 
made upon the English mind by American Abolitionists, 
with zeal and activity for the last eight years, are deep 
and extensive, and that the recent visit of several leading 
individuals of this class, to this country, has contributed 
to strengthen prejudices against the people of the United 
States, on the subject of slavery and colonization, which 
the English public are well prepared and predisposed to 
e^itertain. I have neglected no means or opportunity of 
correcting the prevailing misrepresentations, and making 
known the humane and philanthropic character of our 
institution, and the remarkable success which has attend- 
ed the establishment and progress of Liberia. 

'• In tlie benevolent intentions of the African Civiliza- 
tion Society my confidence is undiminished, yet you will 



REPORT OF INTERVIEW. 91 

perceive, from my letters to Sir T. F. Buxton, that I 
apprehend their measures may prove defective. The 
spirit of commercial gain is so predominant in England, 
and the Government so intent upon opening new markets 
for English manufactures, that I fear the philanthropy of 
Mr. Buxton and his associates will hardly be able so to 
guard their plans and policy, as to secure the main ad- 
vantages of both, to the population of Africa. In 
neglecting to devote their best energies to the plantation 
of pemianent colonies of free men of color, which may 
exhibit models of good, social, and political institutions, 
I conceive they greatly err. But as their plans are 
obviously immature, and must remain so, until after the 
return of the expedition to the Niger, (which will sail 
in the course of a few weeks,) we may hope those who 
conduct them will become wiser by reflection and expe- 
rience. 

"' On the 3d of this month I v/as introduced to the 
General Committee of the Civilization Society, and 
explained to them, in a brief speech, the principles and 
proceedings of the Colonization Society ; stated the con- 
dition and encouraging prospects of Liberia, and ex- 
pressed the friendly sentiments cherished by the Presi- 
dent and Directors of that Society, towards the one 
which they represented ; and which was viewed as kin- 
dred in its objects ; aiming in like manner to overthrow 
the slave trade and extend the blessings of civilization 
and Christianity to the barbarous tribes and nations of 
Africa. I also made to them, in obedience to my instruc- 
tions, a distinct proposition in regard to the extension of 
the Liberian territory. 

" The meeting was large, comprising several distin- 
guished persons, and gave me a respectful hearing, but. 



92 Missiox. 

as seemed apparent, rather from courtesy than a desire to 
enter into intimate relations of intercourse and friendship 
with the Colonization Society. The resolution* adopted 
the same day hy this Committee is herewith transmitted. 
Dr. Lushington has since expressed a desire to under- 
stand our views and proceedings, and I hope soon to 
confer with him on the subject. I am convinced that a 
gradual but great change is taking place among the mem- 
bers of the Civilization Society in our favor, which 
their desire to retain the confidence and support of the 
Abolitionists renders them slow to acknowledge. 

••' I am under very great obligations to Dr. Thomas 
Hodgkin for the most earnest and unremitting exertions 
to advance the interests of the Society. My warmest 
gratitude is also due to Petty Vaughan, esquire, and to 
Messrs. A. and G. Ralston, for very obliging attentions. 
Our minister, Mr. Stevenson, has shown every disposition 
to promote the cause of the Society. 

" Three small meetings have been held, to consider the 
measures best to be adopted, and particularly to decide 
Avhether efforts should be made to revive the British 
African Colonization Society. It has been judged expe- 
dient to postpone such eflbrts for the present, while the 
request has been made, that a pamphlet, containing a brief 
exposition of the design of the Society, and a view of 

* I am unable to obtain a copy of this resolution from the office 
of the Colonization Society, where (though accompanying this 
letter,) I learn it has not been received. The purport of 
it was, "That the General Committee did not regard them- 
selves as competent to consider questions relating to territorial 
limits and jurisdiction in Africa, such questions being left to the 
Governments of Great Britain and the United States ; but that 
they trusted cordial feelings of regard would be cherished between 
the friends of Africa in both countries." 



IMPORTANCE OF STATISTICS FROM THE COLONY. 93 

its operations in Africa, should be prepared forthwith for 
publication. This work I hope to accomplish before my 
return to the United States. 

" Questions are frequently proposed in relation to the 
statistics of Liberia, which no returns that 1 have seen, 
enable me satisfactorily to answer. I trust the Directors 
may be able, through Governor Buchanan, to obtain state- 
ments, minute and accurate, in regard to the trade, agri- 
culture, population, births, deaths, improvements, &c., of 
tlie colony, sufficient to satisfy the most curious inquiries. 

" Some unpleasant feelings have been excited among 
English merchants engaged in the African trade, by the 
proceedings of Governor Buchanan against Capt. Herbert, 
and the matter has been brought to the consideration of 
Lord Palmerston. Dr. Hodgkin, who informs me that 
Capt. Herbert had made very favorable reports of the 
character and condition of Liberia, especially regrets that 
any causes of irritation should occur between the citizens 
of that colony, and Englishmen, prosecuting lawful com- 
merce, on that coast. Of the case of Capt. Herbert I 
know nothing, except from a brief paragraph in the Re- 
pository, but feel assured that Governor Buchanan felt 
himself entirely justified in the course he adopted. 

" We can hardly hope for any considerable amount of 
liinds for the Colonization Society at present from the 
British public. This, though a subject of deep regret to 
me, is none of disappointment ; a change of opinion must 
precede contributions ; and though these may not now 
be secured, much may, I think be done, towards securing 
a greater object, the awakening of just and liberal senti- 
ments in this country towards the Colonization Society^ 
and the citizens generally of the United States. 

" I have the honor to be, yours, &c., R. R. GURLEY. 
Hon. H. Clay, President of the Jl. a Society^' 



94 MISSION. 

Subsequently to this interview with the General Com- 
mittee of the Civilization Society, I obtained an introduc- 
tion, through the obliging attentions of the American 
minister, Mr. Stevenson, to Lord John Russell, Secretary 
of State for the colonies. I also conferred freely with 
another individual of great influence in the affairs of the 
Government, as well as in the direction of the Civiliza- 
tion Society, whose name, for reasons which it is unne- 
cessary to state, is omitted in the letter here submitted. 

"London, January 19, 184L 
My dear sir : Since I last had the honor of reporting 
to you, sir, as President, and through you to the Directors 
of the American Colonization Society, my proceedings in 
this country, I have been favored with interviews by Lord 
John Russell, her Majesty's Secretary of State for the 

colonies, and with . 

" To Lord John Russell, I explained the benevolent views 
of the Colonization Society, and mentioned the instruc- 
tions I had received, to endeavor through the African 
Civilization Society, to obtain the assent of the British 
Government, to a proposition, that the portion of the Afri- 
can coast south and east of Cape Palmas, as far as the 
river Assinee, should be prospectively within the limits of 
Liberia. I mentioned also, the success which had attended 
the exertions of the Colonization Society ; the influence of 
the laws and citizens of Liberia in the suppression of the 
slave trade and the civilization of Africa ; the prospect of 
the growth of this colony ; and the injurious consequences 
to be apprehended from the establishment of communities 
by any other than Americans, in its immediate vicinity. 
I alluded to the deep interest felt in the United States in 
all measures adapted to overthrow the slave trade and 
civilize the population of Africa, and to the opinion en- 



INTERVIEW WITH LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 95 

tertained there, that the Colonization and Civilization 
Societies were intended to operate to the same great and 
philanthropic end. 

" I also ventured to suggest, that nothing, would, as a 
measure of force, tend so effectually to the extinction of 
the African commerce in slaves, as a union of all the mari- 
time powers in the denunciation of it as jjiracy, by the 
universal law of nations. 

" His lordship said, that my statements and observations 
should receive his consideration ; that he was gratified to 
learn that so many benevolent individuals in America 
were disposed to co-operate in the civilization of Africa ; 
and that the Colonization Society had his best wishes for 
its prosperity. He indicated that, in regard to the limits 
of territory in Africa, it would be desirable that some pro- 
position should come from the United States Government, 
although I fully explained to him the fact, that with the 
Government, the Colonization Society had no direct con- 
nection. I should have stated, that his lordship perused 
your letter or commission with respectful attention. 

"My converyation with was more particu- 
lar and protracted than" with Lord John Russell. It will 
be recollected that this gentleman some years ago signed 
a protest against the Colonization Society, while for a 
long time he has been distinguished in the House of Com- 
mons, both for his efforts against the slave trade and in 
the cause of West Indian emancipation. He is an indi- 
vidual of extensive information, of enlightened views on 
most subjects, and of liberal and benevolent sentiments. 
I stated to him, the principles and policy of the Coloniza- 
tion Society, and the remarkable success Mdiich had 
attended its proceedings. He expressed a favorable 
opinion of Liberia, and like Sir T. F. Buxton could see 



96 Missiox. 

no objection to the Society, as its purpose is exhibited in 
its constitution ; but frankly said that he had disapproved 
of the institution, because he supposed it to rest upon the 
assumption that the colored race could not, in America, 
rise to equality with the whites, and therefore should be 
expatriated, and thus he thought the Society obstructed 
the social union of the two races and fostered an unjusti- 
liable spirit of caste. He spoke much of the effect of 
emancipation in the West Indies, as seen in the decay of 
tliis spirit, and of the prospect of an amalgamation of the 
white and colored races in those Islands. I of course 
sought to correct his errors, and to explain the actual 
condition and prospects of the colored race in the United 
States, and to show that all attempts by foreign or exclu- 
sively northern societies, (if indeed, efforts any where and 
in any way were otherwise,) to produce a social and 
political union on equal terms between the two races, were, 
at present, highly injurious, and dangerous to the peace 
and interests of all classes in our southern States. 

" said, that although he was a member of the 

Anti-Slavery Societies of this kingdom, he must not be held 
responsible for all their proceedings, and that certainly he 
did not approve of the interference or intermeddling of 
English philanthropists with the domestic or political af- 
fairs of the Americans. He appeared also to dissent from 
the doctrines of a large portion of the immediate aboli- 
tionists, while he urged, (and I thought with some reason,) 
the duty of the southern States of America to commence 
efforts in the way of ameliorating the condition and improv- 
ing the minds of the colored population within their limits. 

" He told me, (which was gratifying and occasioned 
some surprize, as it had not been stated by Sir T. F. Bux- 
ton,) that the English Government had consented with 



INTERVIEW WITH . 97 

great reluctance to acquire any, even a temporary juris- 
diction over the territory in Africa, that the expedition 
fitted out at an expense of £61,000, and soon to sail for 
the Niger, and other measures of the Government, which 
might follow it, were temporary only and designed to 
prepare the way for settlements of colored men from vari- 
ous parts of the world, who were to be invited and en- 
couraged to establish independent communities for agri- 
cultural, commercial and other purposes, and for the 

civilization of Africa. is a leading member of the 

African Civilization Society, and if his opinions are correct, 
the policy and objects of that Society cannot fail to prove 
identical with that of the Colonization Society. It is very 
possible, however, that the views and plans both of the Bri- 
tish Government and of the Civilization Society, are as yet, 
immature, and liable to be varied by future circumstances. 

" I trust that the ideas of may prevail, and that 

all efforts in this country for the good of Africa, will 
finally be concentrated on the scheme of founding, in that 
land, communities or states of free men of color, which 
may afford models of good political and social institu- 
tions, and raise the barbarians of that country to an equal 
share with themselves in the blessings of knowledge, 
liberty and Christianity. 

" I should add, that on the subject of the territory of 
Liberia, is of opinion, that neither the Govern- 
ment nor people of England will be disposed to plant set- 
tlements which may interfere with its growth or pros- 
perity. He seemed a little startled at the fact, that the 
country of the Kroo people is within the limits of the 
Liberian territory ; spoke of them as a people of very in- 
teresting character, and of great importance to any Go- 
vernment or society that might seek to civilize Africa. 
9 



98 MISSION. 

" I briefly alluded to the possible dangers to which 
Liberia mig-ht be exposed in case of war, and the impor- 
tance of its being regarded as neutral in any such contest. 
He remarked, that he did not believe it would be disturbed 
by England, and that he would cheerfully exert his influ- 
ence to secure the recognition of its neutral rights by this 
and other Powers. 

" I respectfully submit to you, sir, and the Directors of 
the Society, w^hether endeavors should not be made, to 
secure authority and aid from Congress, to fit out a small 
expedition to explore certain portions of the African coast, 
and also, whether efforts should not be renewed in our 
national legislature ; to obtain the consent of all Christian 
nations to stigmatize the African slave trade as piracy by 
universal national law ? 

'•'• I have the honor to be, 

"Dear sir, with perfect respect, 
"Your friend and servant, 
"R.R. GURLEY. 

"Hon. Henry Clay." 

All the communications of the writer except this last. 
had been transmitted in time to reach AVashington before 
the annual meeting of the Directors. No instructions 
from them arrived ; and it naturally occurred to him, that 
they had judged best to commit to his discretion the 
question of deciding on the time and means for eflecting 
the general purposes of his commission; and yet, it 
seemed but reasonable that in such case, he sliould have 
been infoiTned of their opinion. 

It was clear, that to enlighten and change the public 
mind, very much darkened and perverted by the oppo- 
nents of the Colonization Society, truth must find access 



LECTURES IN EGYPTIAN HALL. 99 

to the people, either through oral or printed discourse. 
From what I soon discovered of the candour and good 
.sense of the educated classes in England, my conviction 
was entire, that full explanations and honest statements, 
would secure a favorable verdict in behalf of the senti- 
ments of the Colonization Society, and the policy de- 
veloped in the settlements of Liberia. But preparations 
for public meetings are attended with great expense in 
England ; and this expense, in regard to an unpopular 
cause, is necessarily thrown upon its advocates, and 
the writer was unsupplied with resources for opening 
halls and chapels for the discussion and defence of the 
scheme which he had been delegated to represent and 
promote. 

Near the close of January, George Catlin, Esq., in the 
most friendly and generous manner, proposed that I should 
occupy Egyptian Hall, (then under his control,) and I 
announced the purpose of delivering two lectures on the 
principles, policy, and success of the American Coloniza- 
tion Society. The following very brief and imperfect 
notice of these lectures and several subsequent meetings, 
appeared in the London Sun, of February 8th : 

" Agreeably to public notice, the Rev. R. R. Gurley, 
Secretary of the American Colonization Society, addressed 
an audience on two successive evenings (Thursday and 
Friday) last week in Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, explain- 
ing the views and enlarged benevolence of this Society, 
towards all classes of the colored race, in America and 
Africa, and replying to various objections urged against it. 
At the close of the second lecture, Mr. Gurley was invited 
by one of his auditors, Mr. John Scoble, of the Anti- 
Slavery Society to enter on a debate with him. The 
£rhallenge was readily accepted for Monday evening, 



100 MISSION. 

when a highly interesting discussion took place, which 
was adjourned to Wednesday, Daniel Lister, Esq., presid- 
ing on both occasions. At the close of Mr. Gurley's 
reply, to Mr. Scoble's first speech on Wednesday, the latter, 
offended at the course of the Chainnan, (which was sus- 
tained by the meeting,) suddenly left the platform. Mr. 
Gurley was requested to proceed in his statements. At the 
conclusion of his remarks, on the motion of Dr. Costel- 
lo, seconded by A. B. Wright, Esq., the meeting expressed 
their thanks to Mr. Gurley for the valuable facts and views, 
he had so eloquently submitted to their consideration, and 
adjourned till Friday evening. At this third meeting, Mr. 
Lister having been again called to the chair. Dr. Costello 
reviewed, in a brief but pertinent and able manner, the 
course of the several meetings. The Chairman also 
made a few observations, expressive of his regret that any 
thing should have occurred, which should have been 
deemed by Mr. Scoble, cause sufficient, to render his re- 
treat necessary. Mr. Gurley then, at the request of the 
meeting, submitted various facts and documents vindi- 
cating the American Colonization Society and the colony 
of Liberia from objections and reproach, and showing its 
tendency to suppress the African slave trade, and intro- 
duce civilization and Christianity among the native popu- 
lation. Elliott Cresson, Esq., followed Mr. Gurley with 
many facts and statements in corroboration of his views 
and of the beneficent policy of the Society. 

••'Lieutenant Colonel H. Dundas Campbell, late Gov- 
ernor of Sierra Leone, then rose and expressed, in a very 
earnest and emphatic manner, his regard for the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society, and from his personal observa- 
tions on the coast of Africa, and reports from English 
naval officers who had visited Liberia, his conviction of 



DEBATE WITH MR. SCOBLE. 101 

the good character of the people of that colony, and of 
the great benefits to be anticipated from the multiplica- 
tion of similar establishments. Colonel Campbell then 
moved a resolution, ' That the American Colonization 
Society is deserving of high approbation, and that this 
Society and the colony of Liberia are contributing 
essentially to the suppression of the African slave trade 
and the civilization of Africa.' 

"Mr. Guest, in seconding the motion, suggested by way 
of amendment, 'That in the lectures and debates to 
which the meeting had listened for several evenings, Mr. 
Gurley had triumphantly vindicated the American Colo- 
nization Society from all reproach, and established its 
character as a pure and benevolent institution.' 

"Petty Vaughan, Esq., proposed to add, 'That the 
American Colonization Society is worthy of the appro- 
bation and support of English philanthropy." The ori- 
ginal resolution of Colonel Campbell, and the amend- 
ments, were then unanimously adopted. A committee 
was appointed, and a subscription opened, (on motion of 
Dr. Ilodgkin,) to carry forward these objects. Thanks 
having been voted to the Chairman for his able services, 
the meeting was adjourned till Wednesday, 10th instant, 
at eight o'clock, in the same place. 

"At a subsequent meeting, which was addressed by 
several gentlemen, a deep interest was expressed in the 
plan and success of the American Colonization Society ; 
the question in regard to a petition to Parliament, calling 
for an examination into the condition and prospects of 
the settlements in Africa, particularly Liberia, was consi- 
dered, and the proposal for such a petition approved. 
The following resolution was then adopted : 

" ' Resolved^ That a committee, consisting of Dr. 
9* 



102 Missio?r, 

Hodgkin, Lieutenant Colonel H. D. Campbell, A. B. 
Wright, Esq., Dr. Costello, Mr. Fairburn, Mr. Guest, Mr. 
Laird, Mr. P. Vaughan, D. Lister, Esq., and Mr. G. Ral- 
ston, be appointed, with power to add to their number, 
for the purpose of properly framing the petition, and of 
waiting on Lord John Russell, with a request that he 
would present it, and, generally, to carry out the objects 
of this meeting.' " 

A more extended report of the proceedings of these 
meetings was published in the London Morning Chroni- 
cle of the 19th of February, from which I present a few 
extracts, having taken the liberty to correct two or three 
errors. 

Says the Chronicle, " These meetings commenced on 
the 2Sth and 29th of January, when Mr. Gurley pro- 
ceeded to explain his viev/s, on each occasion, to a 
highly respectable meeting, over which D. Lister, Esq., 
presided, and which was attended, among other gentle- 
men, by Lieutenant Colonel H. Dundas Campbell, (late 
Governor of Sierra Leone,) Dr. Hodgkin, Dr. Costello, 
Elliott Cresson, Esq., A. B. Wright, Esq., Petty Vaughan, 
Esq., F. T. Texugo, Esq., (a Portuguese,) &.C., Stc. 
There were also many ladies present. During the 
second meeting, Mr. John Scoble, an accredited agent of 
the Anti-slavery Society, took exception at some of the 
statements of the Rev. Mr. Gurley, and challenged him 
to a public discussion. The challenge was accepted, 
and the debate commenced on the Monday following, 
(February 1st,) Mr. Lister again presiding, and the meeting 
being attended as before. Mr. Scoble's main argument — 
one supported, we believe, by very many persons anxious 
for the total and immediate extinction of slavery — 
was, that the scheme of the American Society, though 



STATEMENT OF COL. CAMPBELL. 103 

very good in itself, was in fact calculated to prolong the 
evil, by turning the public attention away from the hor- 
rors of slavery, and exciting their hopes of its gradual 
extinction by means of African colonization. Mr. Gur- 
ley's speeches consisted of a vindication of the princi- 
ples and practice of the Society : their general effect, as 
far as the exposition of interesting facts goes, is given 
below in a report of a speech delivered on a subsequent 
evening. This meeting was adjourned to the 3d, when 
the debate was renev/ed ; but at the close, Mr. Scoble, 
offended at the course of the Chairman, (which the meet- 
ing afterwards sustained,) left the platform without ap- 
pointing a day for the continuation of the discussion. 
The meeting, however, agreed to resolutions exonerating 
the American Colonization Society from the charge of 
being patrons, directly or indirectly, of slavery, and 
declaring the Society deserving of high approbation, as 
contributing, together with the colony of Liberia, essen- 
tially to the suppression of the African slave trade and 
the civilization of Africa." 

" At one of these meetings. Lieutenant Colonel Camp- 
bell said that, during the three years he had been Go- 
vernor of Sierra Leone, he had had frequent opportunities 
of observing persons from the colony of Liberia, and he 
had always found them very superior in intellect, besides 
being excellent m.echanics, and generally very moral and 
well conducted. In fact, he would candidly say that no 
persons in his own colony equalled them. From his 
knowledge of the interior of Africa, he took upon him- 
self to say, that it was by the establishment of such 
colonies as Liberia that civilization would be effected 
there. It was useless to send out Europeans to that 
coast; the climate was too prejudicial to them. It was 



104 MISSIO-N". 

the colored man only that was fit for those regions. 
The great calumny, that the black man was incapable of 
intellectual eminence, was practically refuted both at 
Sierra Leone and at Liberia. Many of the pilots at 
Sierra Leone were likewise preachers, and he could truly 
say, that one of tlie best sermons he had ever heard was 
preached by a black man, on the occasion of his (Go- 
vernor Campbell's) departure from the colony. He 
trusted that a society, similar to the American Society, 
would be established in England. 

'^On Wednesday, the 10th, an adjourned meeting was 
held, when circumstances prevented Mr. Lister from pre- 
siding, and Dr. Costello took the chair. 

" The Rev. K. R. Gurley communicated some inter- 
esting facts to the meeting connected with his own pro- 
ceedings on behalf of the Society in this country. Prior 
to doing so, however, he deprecated, in eloquent and feel- 
ing language, the possibility of a recent misunderstanding 
between the United States and this country, leading to 
the horrors of war. Nothing would give him greater 
sorrow, or more paralyze his strength in the great cause 
of African freedom than the bare prospect of a war be- 
tween that country in which his chief affections lay, and 
this, the mother country, to which she owed her ancient 
associations, her literature, her institutions, and no small 
part of her renov/n. Indeed, it was impossible for Chris- 
tians to entertain without horror, the idea, that America 
and England — countries of common origin, language, 
liberty, literature, and religion — should leap into a war 
for light and trivial causes, and he could hardly consider 
any conduct more criminal, than that of those, who sought 
to light up the flame of discord in the public mind, and 
excite the passions and jealousies of the two nations, 



ORIGIN OF COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 105 

when the question was really one for the tribunal of 
reason and justice [hear, hear, hear]. He [Mr. Gurley] 
had been asked since his arrival in England, what was 
the origin of this Society. His answer was, that the 
precise origin could not be distinctly stated, as the project 
for colonizing Africa with free people of color, by their 
own consent, had been conceived in different parts of the 
United States, at about the same period of time. Gran- 
ville Sharpe and Dr. Fothergill, in England, had founded 
Sierra Leone. Dr. Hopkins and Capt. Cuffee, of New 
England, had favored the colonization scheme long before 
the origin of the Colonization Society. In 1818, the 
subject received attention both in the New England States 
and from the Legislature of the State of Virginia; but 
the first mover for its formation was the venerable Dr. 
Finley, of New Jersey, who visited the city of Washing- 
ton, consulted a number of distinguished and philanthropic 
men,* and held meetings, at w^hich the foundations of 
the Society were laid. So much for the origin of the 
Society. Since its establishment, large sums had been 
voluntarily subscribed, and, adding the value of slaves 
emancipated in various parts of the Union, the amount 
given to the cause might be about $1,400,000. The 
Society had received the support of a large body of the 
most intelligent statesmen of America, and of the wisest 
and best men throughout the United States ; and he did 
not believe that there was an American present who 
would doubt the truth of his statement, that seven-tenths 
of the wise and good throughout the twenty-six States, 

* Among whom were Hon. C. F. Mercer, F. S. Key, Esq., 
Elias B. Caldwell, Esq., (who had for some time contemplated 
something of the kind,) Dr. William Thornton, Mr. Clay, Chief 
Justice Marshal, Mr. Webster, and others. 



106 MISSIOiV. 

gave their support to this institution, as the best which 
human wisdom could devise, for securing the freedom ^ 
and elevating the character of the colored race. Mr. 
Gurley proceeded to say, that the Society had been for 
nearly twenty years in existence, when they observed 
that the plan of Sir Thomas F. Buxton for colonizing 
Africa nearly resembled their own, and they accordingly 
sent him (Mr. Gurley) over to communicate with the 
English Society ; fearing also, that unless some arrange- 
ments were made between them, the territory of the^two 
colonies might become the subject of dispute. He had 
an interview with the committee, when he was informed 
that they regarded it as a question to be settled by the 
Governments of the two countries. On a subsequent 
interview Avitli Lord John Russell, that noble lord, after 
expressing his full concurrence in the objects of the Soci- 
ety, and, wishing it all prosperity, promised to take the 
subject of the respective jurisdictions of the two colonies 
under his consideration. He afterwards had an interview 
with Dr. Lushington, a distinguished member of the 
British Civilization Society. There was nothing to pre- 
vent a union between the two Societies, seeing that their 
ultimate objects were the same. 

*' In ans\ver to questions from a gentleman in the body 
of the meeting, 

^' Mr. Gurley said, that he did not conceive any question 
could arise between the British Government and the United 
States as to dominion over the colony. The Society 
had repeatedly sent in memorials to Congress for a char- 
ter, but none had been granted. It had obtained a charter 
however from the State of Maryland. Congress had done 
l)ut little for them except by selecting Liberia as a depot 
for re-captured Africans. This, though it had proved of 



RESULT OF DEBATE. 107 

much service to the colony, did not, he apprehended, 
involve the question of right. 

" After eloquent speeches from Mr. Texugo and Col. 
Campbell, 

'' Dr. Hodgkin addressed the meeting in an able speech, 
in which he combated the argument against this scheme 
of colonization. The learned gentleman, who is a mem- 
ber of the Society of Friends, concluded by reading a 
letter from Mr. Buchanan, Governor of Liberia, bearing 
strong testhnony to the prosperity and usefulness of the 
colony. 

" A petition to the House of Commons was then sug- 
gested \ but, in consequence of the lateness of the hour, 
the discussion was adjourned until the meeting of the 
Society, on Wednesday evening next, at eight o'clock." 

Considering the war which for many years had been 
waged in England against the American Colonization 
Society, the judgment of a very intelligent English audi- 
ence pronounced in its favor, after six evenings of dis- 
cussion and debate, was not less gratifying than unex- 
pected. I was convinced, that could the facts and merits 
of the case be fully and fairly exhibited to the people of 
that kingdom, the opinion of the great majority would 
also have been pronounced in its favor. At the last meet- 
ing, an enthusiastic desire was expressed by several gen- 
tlemen, that an adjournment should take place to Exeter 
Hall, as the central and ample and usual place for deliver- 
ing the messages and sounding forth the doctrines of 
humanity to the vast community of enlightened minds 
m Great Britain. But I had been left without means of 
following up the auspicious movements at Egyptian Hall, 
and of opening a way for a cause which 1 thought it both 



'108 ' MISSION. 

a privilege and honor to plead, to the reason, conscience, 
and affections of that reflecting and magnanimous nation. 

Soon after the lectures and debate in Egyptian Hall, 
the writer learned incidentally, from an American friend 
then in London, that he was no longer officially connect- 
ed with the Colonization Society.' He observed, also, 
some time afterwards, in a copy of the annual report of 
the Society, that the late lamented Dr. John Brecken- 
ridge had been appointed to the office of Secretary, and 
in the report of the Executive Committee, discovered the 
following notice of his mission : 

" It was deemed important to send an agent to Eng- 
land, for the purpose of obtaining assurances from the 
British African societies and trading companies, that they 
would not encroach on the territory embraced within the 
present limits of Liberia. 

"Mr. Gurley was selected by your board for the per- 
formance of this duty. In carrying out this appointment, 
the Executive Committee instructed him to confine him- 
self to collecting information in regard to the British 
policy in Africa, to inducing them to abstain from en- 
croaching on the territory adjacent to our settlements, 
and diffiising information in regard to the true character, 
operations, and practical results of the American Coloni- 
zation Society. Before the expiration of the time which 
your board allowed Mr Gurley for his visit, he asked the 
committee to extend it. This they did not feel authorized 
to do. Mr. Gurley, however, has not returned to this 
country, nor has he informed us how far he has succeeded 
in accomplishing the object of his visit." 

His astonishment at this passage will not be thought 
surprising, when it is seen that he communicated prompt- 



AMENDMENT OF MINUTES. 109 

iy to the Committee and Directors, full reports of his 
proceedings ; that no limit to the term of his mission 
was m.entioned in the resolutions of his appointment; 
that he had solicited no extension of time, but merely 
stated his opinion, that, if great results were expected, 
the stay of an agent must be prolonged for several 
months, if not for a year ; and, finally, that his letters 
(the last excepted) had all been transmitted in season for 
their arrival on or before the anniversaiy of the Society. 
As he could not find among his papers a copy of. the 
resolutions authorizing the mission, (the sum of which 
was embodied in his commission,) the words " time al- 
lowed by your Board," used by the Committee, made 
him for a moment half distrust his memory, and he wrote 
forthwith to the Secretary of the Society at Washington, 
requesting that a copy of these resolutions might be 
sent to the Commercial Advertiser for publication, in con- 
nection with a letter correcting the errors in the Com- 
mittee's statement. Far greater was his astonishment on 
the receipt of the paper containing this letter, (of April 
1st,) to find the following appended to the resolutions of 
the Directors : 

" Extract from minutes of the Board of Dec, 1840 : 

" Mr. Phelps stated that the appointment of Mr. Gurley 
to go on a mission to England, was expressly limited to 
four months ; that this limitation formed a part of the au- 
thority for his mission ; and therefore moved that the mi- 
nutes be amended go as to make them conform to the fact. 

" The motion was agreed to nem con.^ and the minutes 
were ordered to be amended accordingly." 

Observe, First. This motion of Mr. Phelps was made 
six months, wanting three days, after the adoption of the 
resolutions which it was designed to amend. 
10 



110 MISSION. 

Second. At the passage of the original resolutions, 
there were present seven Directors entitled to vote, and 
at the passage of the amendment, five; but four of those 
present at the adoption of the former, were absent when 
the amendment was adopted ; and two who were absent 
in the former case, were present in the latter, ihree only 
having been present on both occasions. 

Third. Hence it is evident, that three persons assume 
to decide that seven., about six months before, had failed 
to express their meaning in their resolutions, and proceed 
to amend such resolutions. This ex post facto correction 
by a minority of the acts of a majority, may sometimes 
serve purposes of convenience, never of justice or honor. 
In Parliamentary assemblies, " On information of a mis- 
entry or omission of an entry in a journal, a committee 
may be appointed to examine and rectify it, and report to 
the house •, " and the rule of the Congress of the United 
States is, that even a motion for reconsideration must 
originate with one who voted wdth the majority, and within 
three days after the passage of the act or resolution refer- 
red to, hi such motion. 

Fourth. Notice of this amendment was never trans- 
mitted to me ; nor was I honored wdth any communica- 
tion relating to the proceedings of the annual meeting, 
or to any other subject, (as I have already stated,) from 
the Directors, after I left the country. 

Thus in a foreign land, engaged in a great work, to 
which the writer had been delegated, was he suddenly 
and unexpectedly abandoned by those from whom he had 
received his commission, and cast off from an institution, 
to which, the ardent enthusiasm of his youth, and the best 
powers of his manhood, had been devoted ; to which in 
the weakness and dawn of its being, he had consecrated 



CONDUCT OF THE TIMES. Ill 

all lii.s abilities and exertions ; which he had advocated 
and defended in nearly every State and city of the Union ; 
stood by in every hour of trial, and had the happiness to 
see rising, from what might be termed, little more than a 
seminal principle, to a strength and dignity sharing the 
confidence and commanding ^the respect of the nation. 
The effect upon himself gave him little disturbance. He 
feared nothing for his interest or reputation. But he M^as 
deeply mortified to find himself unsustained by those 
whose highest duty to a great cause was to have sus- 
tained him, at an hour when the light was breaking upon 
him, and every thing promised success. He abated no- 
thing of heart or hope. He applied with new vigor to his 
task, regardless of what might be, in future, his official 
relations to the Society, provided only, he might effectu- 
ally contribute to cement a more perfect union, and pro- 
duce a friendly co-operation between the philanthropists 
of England and America in the African cause. 

In reply to the Times, (a newspaper unfortunately of 
vast influence) which had published remarks impeaching 
the motives of the Colonization Society, and the charac- 
ter of Liberia, I addressed a letter to the editor, proving 
the opposition both of the Society and the colony to the 
slave trade, and that their tendency was, both in America 
and Africa, to benefit every class of the African race. 
This editor, regardless of courtesy, commented on this 
letter, but refused to publish it. The Morning Post readily 
inserted in its columns my original letter to the Times, 
also a reply to the comments of that journal. I venture 
to offer to the public, extracts from these letters, especially 
for the sake of the quotations from the writings of some 
of the founders of the American Colonization Society, 
which reveal the purity of their motives and the extent 
and comprehensiveness of their views. 



112 MISSION. 

" The late Judge Washing-ton, the first President of the 
Society, in his address at its first anniversary, among 
other things, said, ' an effort has been made to prejudice the 
minds of the free people of color against this institution, 
which had its origin, it is believed, in an honest desire to 
promote their happiness. A suggestion has been made 
to them, which this Society disclaims by the terms of its 
constitution, that they are to be constrained to migrate to 
the country which may be selected for the seat of our 
colony. No suspicion can be more unfounded. It is 
sanctioned by no declarations or acts of this Society, from 
which alone our intentions can be candidly inferred.' 
He adds, ' The effect of this institution, if its prosperity 
shall equal our wishes, will be alike propitious to every 
interest of our domestic society ; and should it lead, as 
we may fairly hope it will, to the slow but gradual aboli- 
tion of slavery, it will wipe away from our political insti- 
tutions the only blot which stains them, and in pallia- 
tion of ^vliich we shall not be at liberty to plead the 
excuse of moral necessity until we shall have honestly 
exerted all the means we possess for its extinction.' 

" In the appendix to the first annual report of the So- 
ciety, will be found a letter from General Harper, in 
which he unfolds the humanity of the scheme, and its 
vast beneficence to America, to the free people of color, 
to the slaves, by opening the way and offering induce- 
ments to emancipation ; to all civilized and commercial 
nations, in the resources it must develop and the enter- 
prize it must awaken ; and finally alludes to a higher 
good which he trusts will be accomplished. 

" 'The greatest benefit,' he observes, ' however, to be 
hoped for, from this enterprize, that M'liich in contempla- 
tion most delights the philanthropic mind, still remains to 
be unfolded. It is the benefit to Africa herself, from this 



LANGUAGE OF GENERAL HARPER. 113 

return of her sons to her bosom, bearing with them arts, 
knowledge, and civilization, to which she has hitherto 
been a stranger. Cast your eyes on this vast continent. 
You see there innmnerable tribes and nations of blacks, 
mild and humane in their dispositions, sufficiently intelli- 
gent, robust, active, and vigorous, not averse from labor 
or wholly ignorant of agriculture, and possessing some 
knowledge of the ruder arts, which minister to the first 
wants of civilized man. You see a soil generally fertile, 
a climate healthy for the natives, and a mighty river, 
which rolls its waters through vast regions, inhabited by 
these tribes, and seems destined by an alMvise and benefi- 
cent Providence one day to connect them with each other, 
and all of them wdth the rest of the world in the relations 
of commerce and friendly intercourse. What a field is 
here presented for the blessings of civilization and Chris- 
tianity, which colonies of civilized blacks afibrd the best, 
and probably, the only means of introducing ! These 
colonies, composed of blacks already instructed in the 
arts of civilized life and the truths of the Gospel, judi- 
ciously placed, well conducted, and constantly enlarged, 
w^U extend gradually into the interior, will form com- 
mercial and political connections with the native tribes in 
their vicinity, will incorporate many of the natives with 
the colonies, and in their turn make establishments and 
settlements among the natives, and thus diffuse all around 
the arts of civilization and the benefits of literary, moral, 
and religious instruction.' 

" In this letter, written in 1817, before a solitary agent 
of the Society had explored the African coast, and long 
before the course of the Niger to its termination was 
discovered. General Harper urges that in the selection of 
a site for the proposed colony, regard should be had to 
10* 



114 MISSIO.N-. 

the ' facility of communication with the Niger, that river 
which seems destined to supply the link of connection 
between the interior of Africa and the civilized world ■,' 
and after tracing what he imagined might be the progress 
of civilization and commerce on the one side, up some 
Atlantic stream to near the head waters of tlie Niger, and 
on the other, should that river flow into the sea, up to its 
highest navigable point, he adds — 'At last these two 
branches would meet, and unite in a commerce vast as the 
stream on which it would be borne, and as the continent 
it would civilize, enlighten, and adorn.' 

"Can any honest and unprejudiced mind doubt that 
this publication of General Harper proves that, instead 
of 'the American Colonization Society and the American 
colony being simply devices of slave- m.asters to get rid 
of the free colored population,' the plan of the Society 
originally comprehended, in the wide circuit of its phi- 
lanthropy and beneficence, the whole African race, and 
the moral and intellectual renovation of one quarter of 
the globe ? In saying that the scheme of Sir T. F. Bux- 
ton, is in the main, but a republication of that of the 
American Colonization Society, I must not be considered 
as detracting from his merits. Probably he never saw, 
until recently, the early publications of the Colonization 
Society, and certainly, to win the approbation of the Eng- 
lish Government to the schem.e, and secure ample means 
for demonstrating its practicableness and wisdom, is in 
the highest degree meritorious. But who, knowing that 
this letter of General Harper v.as published in the first and 
second reports of the Colonization Society, as comprising 
the general views of the institution, will presume to deny 
to them an extended and dignified humanity ? 
" Having surveyed the grandeur of the project in its 



GRANDEUR OF COLOXIZATIOX SCHEME. 115 

remote results, General Harper adds — ' Ages indeed may 
be required for the full attainment of these objects. Unto- 
ward events or unforseen difficulties m.ay retard or defeat 
them ; but the prospect, hoAvever remote or uncertain, is 
still animating, and the hope of success seems sufficient to 
stimulate us to the utmost exertion. How vast and sub- 
lime a career does this undertaking open to a generous 
ambition, aspiring to deathless fame by great and useful 
actions ! Who can count the millions that in future 
times shall know and bless the names of those by whom 
this magnificent scheme of beneficence and philanthropy 
has been conceived and shall be carried into execution } 
Throughout the widely extended regions of middle and 
southern Africa, then filled with populous and polished 
nations, their memories shall be celebrated and their 
praises sung, when other states, and even the flourishing 
and vigorous nation to which they belong, now in its 
flov/er of youth, shall have run their round of rise, gran- 
deur, and decay, and like the founders of Palmyra, Tyre, 
Babylon, Memphis, and Thebes, shall no longer be known 
except by vague reports, of their former greatness, or by 
some fragments of those works of art, the monuments of 
their taste,, their power, or their pride, which they may 
have left behind.' 

" This may be thought the language of poetry ; if you 
please, of rhapsody, but is wholly unlike that of men de- 
vising a scheme simply to get rid of the free blacks, in 
order to strengthen and perpetuate the system of slavery. 
And, surely, while I might fill your columns with opinions 
and sentiments equally benevolent and lofty, from the 
early reports and documents of the Colonization Society, 
no one acquainted with tliese v/ill asperse this Society 
without exposing him^self justly both to ridicule and 
indignation. 



116 MISSIOX. 

'* In Liberia we see a" small but prosperous community, 
or state, of enterprising men of color, mostly self-gov- 
erned, with churches, schools, the press, and all the ele- 
nients of a well ordered Christian society, binding to 
it in commerce and amity many barbarous tribes, and 
already extending over several hundred miiles of coast 
the benignant influence of its manners, laws, and religion, 
hi proof of tlie correctness of this statement, I enclose a 
letter from Capt. Stoll, of the Royal navy, to that excel- 
lent philanthropist. Dr. Thomas liodgkin, which I trust 
you will do me the favor to publish, in connection with 
this communication. 

" The world seldom witnesses a scheme, however wise 
and great, against which ingenious men may not discover 
plausible objection. But after reflection for many years 
on the subject, I am happy to avow the belief that no 
greater or holier undertaking ever summoned to its aid 
the philanthropy or Government of England, than that 
proposed by Sir T. F.Buxton-, especially, if in its execu- 
tion, reliance be mainly placed upon the establishment of 
communities of free persons of color, destined to an in- 
dependent, social, and national existence, and which, by 
models of political wisdom, of just laws, of literary and 
other instructive institutions, and of a pure faith, shall 
tend to recover Africa from barbarism to civilization, lib- 
erty and Christianity." 

Having adduced evidence not to be discredited or set 
aside by any ingenuity or perverseness, of the influence 
of the example, laws, and acts of Liberia, against the slave 
trade, in my letter to the Morning Post, I noticed briefly 
some objections to the Colonization Society, as urged by 
the Times, in the following terms : 

"The gentlemen of the Twies imagine that because 
bv the constitution, the Society is limited to the coloni- 



REMARKS ON THE TIMES. 117 

zation of the free, and may colonize in Africa, or else- 
where, the design of the Society is one of inhumanity to 
the slaves, and concerns Africa as little as any other 
quarter of the globe. But is there any one who does not 
discern the distinction between a sjjecific and a general 
object, a suhordinate and ultimate end } The specific 
object of the Bible Society is to circulate the Scriptures 
without note or comment; the general object, the tem- 
poral and spiritual good of men; the subordinate end, 
the diffusion of Divine knowledge; the ultimate one, the 
eternal salvation of mankind. It were as reasonable to 
say that the object of the Bible Society is simply to 
distribute so many printed sheets, as to say that the Colo- 
nization Society's object is simply the removal of the 
free colored people of the United States ; as reasonable to . 
interpret the design of the Bible Society to be the ad- 
vancement of physical science no less than of moral truth, 
as to interpret that of the Colonization Society to be the 
benefit of other countries no less than Africa. And it is 
remarkable that the Times, to prove this Society a selfish 
device of southern slaveholders, quotes as the language 
of the first memorial of the Society to Congress, what is 
not to he found in that memorial. 

" It would be easy to show that the fathers of the Colo- 
nization Society, before its origin, urged, as reasons for 
its formation, not only the benefits it would confer upon 
the free people of color and upon the slaves, but, above 
all, the mighty consequences of the scheme in the sup- 
pression of the slave trade and the civilization of Africa ; 
that at the time of its formation, these reasons were 
earnestly and eloquently enforced by nearly every advo- 
cate of the plan. And what is the language of that first 
memorial of the American Colonization Society to Con- 



118 MISSIOiV. 

gress, from which the Times quotes words not to he dis- 
covered ill the copy before me ? 

"•'Your memorialists beg leave, with all deference, to 
suggest, that the fairest and most inviting opportunities are 
now presented to the general Government for repairing a 
great evil in our social and political institutions, and at 
the same time for elevating, from a low and hopeless con- 
dition, a numerous and rapidly increasing race of men, 
who want nothing but a proper theatre to enter upon the 
pursuit of happiness and independence in the ordinary 
paths which a benign Providence has left open to the 
human race.' Again, in the same memorial, ' It may be 
reserved for our Government (the first to denounce an 
inhuman and abominable traffic, in the guilt and disgrace 
of which most of the civilized nations of the world were 
partakers) to become the honorable instrument, under 
divine Providence, of conferring a still higher blessing 
upon that large and interesting portion of mankind, bene- 
fitted by that deed of justice; by demonstrating that a 
race of men, composing numerous tribes, spread over a 
continent of vast and unexplored extent, fertility, and 
riches, unknown to the enlightened nations of antiquity, 
and who had yet made no progress in the refinements of 
civilization ; for whom history has preserved no monu- 
ments of arts or arms, that even this hitherto ill-fated 
race may cherish the hope of beholding at least the orient 
star revealing the best and highest aims and attributes of 
man. Out of such materials to rear the glorious edi- 
fice of well ordered and polished society, on the deep 
and sure foundations of equal laws and diffusive education, 
would give a sufficient title to be enrolled among the 
illustrious benefactors of mankind, while it afforded a pre- 
cious and consolatory evidence of the all prevailing power 



REMARKS ON THE TIMES 119 

of liberty, enlightened by knowledge and corrected by reli- 
gion.' But I might quote volumes. The language of 
General Harper, in my letter to the Times^ is pertinent and 
conclusive on the question of the enlarged philanthropy 
of the Colonization Society. Plainly, the editor of the 
Times knows little of the Colonization Society, and no- 
tliing, I apprehend, as he ought to know. Instead of this 
Society being sustained by the southern States, with a 
view to ' establish, build up, and confirm' slavery, as the 
Times alleges, the Colonization Society of Maryland has 
avowed its object to be the extirpation of slavery in that 
State, while the legislature have appropriated two hundred 
thousand dollars for its benefit ; and from personal observa- 
tion and inquiry in nearly all the southern States, I affirm, 
that the true friends of the slave population, those who 
desire their ultimate freedom and elevation, are friends of 
the Colonization Society, -svhile all the advocates of per- 
petual slavery are its opponents. This mighty scheme of 
beneficence rests upon the general sound opinion of the 
American people, like their own union, assailed on the 
one side by the intolerant and despotic fierceness of 
northern abolitionism (many good mistaken men doubt- 
less act under this banner,) and, on the other, by those 
who would perpetuate what they deem the necessary, 
patriarchal, apostolic institution of slavery. The union 
of the friends of unlimited slavery and the advocates of 
immediate unconditional and universal emancipation in 
America, against the sober, practical, and most benevolent 
scheme of colonization, resembles the coalition of the 
Chartists and the Times to overthrow the African Civili- 
zation Sociey. If the arguments of the Chartists be sound, 
that all evils must be remedied at home before any be 
attempted for those abroad, as urged against the Civiliza- 



120 MISSION. 

Society, that of the Ti7iics against the Colonization So- 
ciety, grounded upon the existence of tlie slave trade 
between the southern States, may have some plausibility. 
But the argument is as valid against Bible and Missionary 
Societies in England or America, as against either the 
Civilization or Colonization Societies. The moral influ- 
ence of the scheme of colonization is operating in all 
directions for the good of the colored race, and thus to 
remedy every evil to which any portion of that race in 
America or Africa is at present subjected. 

"I have much confidence in the sober, matured judg- 
ment of the people of England. On the subject of the 
Colonization Society and American slavery, they are to a 
great extent in error, but this will be dispelled by reason, 
truth and time." 

The London Patriot, conducted by Josiah Condar, 
Esq., is patronized generally by the Congregationalists of 
England, as a weekly journal of a liighly moral and reli- 
gious character. The letter addressed to me by Sir 
Thomas F. Buxton was, nearly at the time I was favored 
with an introduction to the General Committee of the 
African Civilization Society, and after the reply to it had 
been placed in the hands of its author, inserted sepa- 
rately from the other portions of the correspondence, in 
this paper ; and the editor took occasion to express his 
hostility to the Colonization Society. A brief answer 
was admitted into the Patriot, and the charges against 
the Society renewed. But the editor declined to do 
me the justice of publishing the entire correspondence 
with Mr. Buxton, or even to insert the following letter, 
while the Morning Post, with a liberality to which I 
had previously been indebted, promptly placed in its 
columns. 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 121 

'' To the Editor of the London Patriot. 

"Sir : I thank you for the publication of my brief let- 
ter on the Colonization and Civilization Societies in your 
paper of the 10th instant. More liberal than the Times., 
which published comments on a communication it sup- 
pressed, you have given the text and commentary toge- 
ther ; yet, like that, you resolve to withhold from your 
readers any refutation, should such appear, of your errors 
in fact and in argument. But, sir, the Patriot and the 
Times together cannot hide the light of truth more than 
that of the sun from the world. It will break out on 
the subject of the Colonization Society and Liberia, over 
this kingdom as day upon night, described incomparably 
by Shakspeare, and which is strikingly emblematic of 
the changes to be produced by colonization in the intel- 
lectual and moral condition of Africa : 

" ' When the searching eye of Heaven is hid 
Behind the globe, and lights the lower world, 
Then thieves and robbers range abroad unseen. 
In murders and in outrage bloody here ; 
But when from under this terrestrial ball 
He fires the proud tops of the eastern pines, 
And darts his light through every guilty hole. 
Then murders, treasons, and detested sins. 
The cloak of night being pluck'd from off their backs, 
Stand bare and naked, trembling at themselves.' 

" I apprehend it may, then, be evident, that Christian 
men in England have cherished prejudices against their 
American brethren, quite as inexcusable as any prejudice 
against color — that they have misrepresented facts and 
arguments for what they deemed righteousness' sake, and 
bound down character and reputation upon the iron bed 
of their own imagined infallible opinion, to try and tor- 
ture, to acquit or condemn, as they find the subject of 
11 



122 MISSION. 

their inquisition to agree with or differ from their dogmas' 
touching the best means of advancing the freedom and 
happiness of the colored race. On this subject, so com- 
plex, so vast, so difficult, it will be seen, I think, that 
their conduct is sanctioned neither by sound philosophy 
nor the genius of Christianity ; that they set aside the 
art of persuasion, and discard alike apostolic example 
and express Divine precepts. Truth forbid that I should 
palliate the least injustice, or shield from deserved infa- 
my a single moral wrong! — that I should check the 
influences of knowledge or the progress of liberty ! — 
that I should impede or limit the elevation and happiness 
and usefulness of the colored race ! It is because I 
would aid, and most rapidly and effectually promote, the 
emancipation and improvement of this race throughout 
America and the world, that I give all possible support 
to the American Colonization Society. 

" In the Patriot of the 3d instant, you observe, ' The 
American Colonization Society not only does not aim at 
even checking the slave trade in Africa, but it protects 
the internal slave trade of the States, which is indepen- 
dent of the import trade, and might continue to exist in 
all its enormity if the African coast were studded with 
free black colonies. The two Societies [the Civilization 
and Colonization] have, as Sir T. Fowell Buxton show s, 
so little in common, even in their ostensible object, that 
no greater injustice can be done to the supporters of the 
one than to hold them responsible for favoring the very 
opposite designs of the other.' 

" Sir, it would be difficult for human ingenuity to frame 
two sentences, comprising, in the same space, more error 
and injustice than these. The charges contained in 
them, it occurred to mc, might have been inconsiderately 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 123 

made. I pointed to my letters in the Morning Post of 
the 2d instant, as demonstrating the falsehood of these 
charges, and requested you to publish them. You de- 
cline, and give us the following paragraph : 

" ' Our readers will judge for themselves whether Sir 
T. Fowell Buxton is right in thinking and saying that the 
proposed objects of the two Societies are 'not the same,' 
or Mr. Gurley, who maintains that they are. We wish 
to give no further offence to the reverend representative 
of the American Society ; but we cannot suppress our 
astonishment at his persisting in the assertion, that ' the 
great objecf of the American Colonization Society is 
the civilization of Africa ! How benevolent soever the 
motives of its originators, it is notorious that its great 
object was to promote 'a voluntary separation of the 
colored from the lohite race^ as being, 'in reason and the 
public judgment, desirable on general principles of bene- 
volence.' The motive for its formation was the fact, 
' that the two hundred thousand colored persons scatter- 
ed throughout the Union, and legally free, enjoyed few 
of the advantages of freedom ;' coupled with the consi- 
deration, ' that there were powerful causes operating to 
frustrate all efforts to elevate very considerably men of 
color' in the United States. — (Gurleifs Life of Ashmiin^ 
page 111.) A society that should have been formed by 
the Jamaica planters to promote the expatriation of all 
free persons of color born in that island, to Sierra Leone, 
would have presented a precise counterpart to the colo- 
nization scheme of the Virginian slave-holders. Mr. 
Gurley calls upon us to prove that the American Colo- 
nization Society protects the internal slave trade. Why 
does he ask for proof? He knows that some leading 
members of the American Colonization Society are both 



124 MISSION. 

slave-holders and slave-sellers, and that they resist the 
abolition even of the Washington slave market. What 
inconsistency is there in a society's affecting to promote 
the abolition of the African slave trade, while it puts not 
forth the feeblest effort — nay, does not so much as pro- 
test against the aggravated enormity of the home slave 
trade .? With Liberia, again we say, we have nothing to 
do in this question, which relates to the objects and mo- 
tives of the American colonizationists. With all possi- 
ble respect for the high character of Mr. Gurley, whom 
we can readily believe to be sincere in his wishes to pro- 
mote the interests of the African race, though too much 
after the American fashion, we must assure him that, as 
regards the Society he represents, he will take nothing 
by his mission. — Ed.' 

" Astonishment is often mutual. Yours at my ' per- 
sisting in the assertion that the great object of the Colo- 
nization Society is the civilization of Africa,' cannot 
exceed mine.) that these sentences are given in justification 
of the charges made by you against the Colonization 
Society. How stand the questions between us ? 

"Your first charge was, that the American Coloniza- 
tion Society ' does not even aim to suppress the slave 
trade in Africa ;' and when I show, as I have done in the 
letters to which I have referred you, and as I might do, 
more extensively by a volume of evidence from the 
early recorded publications and proceedings of that Soci- 
ety, that the overthrow of this traffic was a prominent 
object of its founders, and has been a cherished purpose 
of all its friends, from its very origin; that Liberia,, 
planted by the Society, and embodying in its laws the 
views of its Directors on this subject, condemns any one 
of its citizens, who may engage in this trade, to the 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 120 

penalty of death ; that by force of arms it has broken up 
many slave factories, releasing numerous victims of this 
cruel commerce from their chains, and admitting them as 
freemen to an asylum within its limits ; that by concur- 
rent recent testimony from the most authentic sources, 
English as well as American, the influence of this colo- 
ny is powerful and extensive for the suppression of this 
traffic ; that more than thirty native chiefs have, by 
treaties, consented to abolish it ; what is your reply ? 
' With Liberia w^e have nothing to do in this question, 
wliich relates to the objects and motives of the Ameri- 
can colonizationists.' And pray, sir, will you be so good 
as to inform me how you will ascertain the objects and 
motives of American colonizationists, except by their 
declarations and actions ? By their consistency ? This 
is, indeed, a jewel ; but if honesty and sincerity in any 
one case is to be admitted only where there is consist- 
ency in every case^ will you show me the evidence that 
these virtues have any existence in the world ? Will you 
enable me to discover them among the Abolitionists of 
England ? The Colonization Society declares that one 
of its chief objects is to suppress the African slave trade. 
Through its Qolony it is actually suppressing it, and yet, 
with these focts proved before your eyes, you deny that 
it even aims at checking this traffic, because, as you 
imagine, it makes no effort against the internal slave trade 
in the United States. This is much like denying that a 
train of cars in full motion moves at all, because, in your 
judgment, it might as well move in another direction. 

" It must be presumed that you, sir, and many other 
learned gentlemen in England, are uninformed of the 
unremitting and consistent energy with w-hich the Colo- 
nization Society, from its commencement, has prosecuted 
11* 



126 MISSION. 

measures, in America as well as in Africa, for the destruc- 
tion of the African slave trade. The Directors of this 
Society, in their memorial, addressed to the Congress of 
the United States, in 1820, use the following language : 

"'When, therefore, the object of the Colonization 
Society is viewed, in connection with that entire sup- 
pression of the slave trade, which your memorialists 
trust is resolved shall be effected, its importance becomes 
obvious and extreme. The beneficial consequences 
resulting from success in such a measure, it is impossi- 
ble to calculate. To the general cause of humanity it 
will afford the most rich and noble contribution ; and for 
the nation that regards that cause, that employs its power 
in its behalf, it cannot fail to procure a proportionate 
reward. It is by such a course that a nation ensures to 
itself the protection and favor of the Governor of the 
world.' 

"The memorial from which these sentences are ex- 
tracted, was referred to a committee of Congress, who, 
in their able report thereon, say — 

"'Your memorialists are solemnly enjoined by the 
peculiar object of their trust, and invited by the sugges- 
tions of the memorialists, to inquire into the defects of 
the existing laws against the African slave trade. So 
long as it is in the power of the United States to provide 
additional restraints upon this odious traffic, they cannot 
be withheld consistently wath the justice and honor of 
the nation.' 

"This committee, after depicting the horrors of the 
trade, and declaring that ' this crime, considered in its re- 
mote, as well as proximate consequences, is the very 
darkest in the whole catalogue of human iniquities,' and 
that its authors should be considered as liosles hwnanl 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT, 127 

generis^ brought in a bill, which, by the noble exertions 
of General C. F. Mercer, one of the earliest and ablest 
friends and Vice Presidents of the Society, passed forth- 
with into a law, stigmatizing the African slave trade as 
piracy, and subjecting any citizen or person of the United 
States who should engage in it, upon conviction thereof y 
to the punishment of death. 

"'May it not be believed (say the committee who re- 
ported this bill) that when the whole civilized world shall 
have denounced the slave trade as piracy , it will become 
as unfrequent as any other species of that offence against 
the law of nations.' Thus the Government of the United 
States, the ^rs^ to prohibit the slave trade, through the in- 
fluence of the Colonization Society, became the Jirst to 
make it piracy; an example already imitated by some 
other powers, and the universal imitation of which would 
be, of all measures of force, the most effectual for the ex- 
tinction of this atrocious commerce •, and yet, sir, you 
assert that *• the American Colonization Society does not 
even aim to suppress the slave trade in Africa !' 

" Your next charge was, that the Colonization Society 
' protects the internal slave trade, which is independent 
of the import trade, and might continue to exist in all 
its enormity if the African coast were studded with free 
black colonies. I avowed my utter ignorance of any 
grounds for this charge, and requested proof .^ What is 
your reply ? ' Why does he (Mr. Gurley) ask for proof? 
He knows that some leading members of the American 
Colonization Society are both slave holders and slave 
sellers, and that they resist the abolition of the Washing- 
ton slave market. What inconsistency is there in a 
society's affecting to promote the abolition of the African 



128 MISSION. 

slave trade, while it puts not forth the feeblest effort, nay, 
does not so much as protest against the aggravated enor- 
mity of the home slave trade ? ' 

" You, sir, will not presume to assert that there is any 
thing in the constitution of the Society, which declares 
the 'exclusive object' of the institution 'to be, to pro- 
mote and execute a plan for colonizing (v/ith their con- 
sent) the free people of color residing in the United 
States, in Africa, or elsewhere,' protective of the internal 
slave trade in those States. But the American Coloniza- 
tion Society is a national association, and its members 
and Directors may be citizens of slave-holding or of non- 
slave-holding States. Therefore it protects the internal 
slave trade. By the same logic you must maintain that 
the American Bible Society, the American Tract Society, 
the American Home Missionary Society, the American 
Temperance Society, tlie American Sunday School Union, 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
sions ; in fine, that each and all of the national benevo- 
lent institutions of tlie United States (for members of all 
these may be either from slave-holding or non-slave- 
holding States,) protect the internal slave trade of those 
States. Do you hold that these institutions protect the 
slave trade in the United Slates ? But among leading 
members of the Colonization Society are slave-holders 
and slave-sellers, (if any of the latter, surely very few,) 
and those who resist the abolition of what you term the 
Washington slave market. Of the institutions just 
named, the same fact may be asserted. The Coloni- 
zation Society ' does not so much as protest against the 
aggravated enormity of the home slave trade.' I have 
heard of' no protest against this trade from the associa- 



i 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 129 

tions to which I have alhided. Do you, sir, therefore 
maintain that every national benevolent institution in the 
United States protects the internal slave trade ? 

" I have heard of the British and Foreign Bible Soci- 
ety, and of a British Society to promote the abolition of 
slavery throughout the world. And I have heard of 
evils, both moral and political, under the far-extended 
sceptre of British authority, of oppression in her colo- 
nies ; of intolerable grievances in her eastern dominions, 
where 100,000,000 bow their necks to the yoke of arbi- 
trary power ; of the cries of her poor for bread at the 
very gates of her palaces ; of wretched females, not in 
hundreds but in thousands, wandering nightly through 
the streets of this metropolis to gain a scanty subsist- 
ence at the expense of health and virtue ; and I have not 
felt at liberty to denounce the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, or the British Anti-slavery Society, because they 
are not protesting against all these and other enormities. 
I have presumed that the Bible Society was sufBciently 
occupied in distributing the pure word of God without 
note or comment, and that the Anti-slavery Society would 
readily exhaust all its spare leisure and strength in vilify- 
ing the Colonization Society, and those inconsistent, 
tyrannical, infamous slave-holding Christians and Re- 
publicans of America. The disposition to detect the 
mote in a brother's eye, while a beam is in our own, 
was not limited to the times of our Saviour. 

"The American Colonization Society, instead of pro- 
tecting the internal slave trade, is operating extensively 
in favor of emancipation, and thus to the extinction of 
that traffic. This trade is protected by the laws of those 
States, where slavery exists, as a necessary incident of 
that system — a system urged, shall I not say forced, upon 



130 MISSIOJV. 

the people of those States by the commercial avarice of 
England, in the days of their colonial dependence, 
against earnest remonstrances addressed to the Parlia- 
ment and the throne. It has grown with their growth, 
strengthened with their strength, and become intertwined 
and commingled with the habits, interests, and, indeed, 
with the whole constitution of society. It gave rise to 
the most dangerous and difficult questions connected with 
the formation of the Federal constitution. That consti- 
tution never could have been adopted except with gene- 
ral consent that slavery should be left where it was found, 
under the control of the States, in their individual capa- 
city, where it had been established. Emancipation, 
therefore, can never be effected, the internal slave trade 
never be suppressed, but by the will and consent of the 
slave-holding States. For the great evil of slavery, the 
benevolence of the good, and the wisdom of the wise, in 
the south as in the north, have long anxiously sought a 
remedy. 

*•' The American Colonization Society arose from the 
combined wisdom of benevolent men from the north and 
south, intent to promote the best interests of the colored 
race. As, sir, in your astonishment that I should persist 
in the assertion that the great object of the American 
Colonization Society is the civilization of Africa, you 
have glanced into my ' Life of Ashmun,' to prove by half 
a sentence that the great object was other than this, and 
by one whole sentence and part of another, what motive 
impelled to the formation of the Society, I must beg your 
and the public attention to the entire paragraph in that 
work from which you have made extracts, marking those 
extracts, that you may have all the benefit to which, from 
these citations, you may be entitled : — 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 131 

" ' The American Colonization Society was founded in 
Washington city in December, 1816. The patriotic and 
pious from various parts of the country united in its or- 
ganization. They could not close their eyes upon the 
following facts : — 

"' 1. That the slavery of two millions of colored per- 
sons in the southern portion of this Union, was under 
the exclusive control and legislation of the slave-holding 
States, each having the sole right of regulating it within 
its own limits. 

"'2. That the hco hundred thousand colored persons 
scattered throughout the Union^ and legally free^ enjoyed 
few of the advantages of freedom. 

"'3. That there were poicerful causes operating to 
frustrate all efforts to elevate very considerably, men of 
color in this country, which could not exist, to prevent 
their elevation, in a separate community from the whites. 

" ' 4. That the voluntary separation of the colored from 
the white race was in reason, and the public judgment, so 
desirable on general principles of benevolence, that a 
union of the wise and pious from every State and section 
of the country in support of measures proposed for the 
good of the colored race, yet tending to no such result, 
could not be expected. 

" ' 5. That the success of any measures for the good 
of that race must depend in a great degree on such union. 

"'6. That Africa was inhabited by 50,000,000 to 
100,000,000 of uncivilized and heathen men, and that to 
render as far as practicable, the elevation ,of her exiled 
children conducive to the deliverance and salvation of 
her home population was required alike by philanthropy 
and piety. 

" ' In view of these facts, what humanity and benevo- 



132 MISSION-. 

lence to the colored race suggested, was embodied in the 
constitution of the American Colonization Society. It 
was expected that the operations of this Society would 
unfetter and invigorate the faculties, improve the circum- 
stances, animate the hopes, and enlarge the usefulness of 
the free people of color; that by awakening thought, 
nullifying objections, presenting motives convincing to 
the judgment, and persuasive to the humanity of masters, 
they would encourage emancipation ; that in Africa their 
results would be seen in civilized and Christian commu- 
nities ; in the substitution of lawful and beneficial com- 
merce for the abominable slave trade, of peaceful agricul- 
ture for a predatory warfare, knowledge for ignorance ; 
the arts that refine, for vices that degrade ; and for super- 
stitions, vile, cruel, and blood stained, the ennobling ser- 
vice and pure worship of the true God. It was believed 
that the fellowship of the north with the south, in African 
colonization, would tend powerfully to produce just 
opinions on the subject of slavery, and prepare for the 
removal of the evil without endangering the integrity and 
peace of the Union. It was clear that the principles and 
measures of the Society interfered not with those who 
desired to ameliorate the condition of the people of color, 
bond or free, who might remain in our country ; but, in 
fact, contributed to produce those kind and considerate 
sentiments towards both, which alone can admit them to 
the privileges, possible for them while here, and denied 
a distinct, national existence. But the founders of the 
Society saw not by what authority we could limit the 
Almighty, and tie down the destiny of the colored people 
to a condition so low (or why they should be satisfied 
with it,) compared with the blessings of nationality.'* 

*Dr. Beecher. 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 133 

^' If you have referred to the Life of Ashmun as au- 
t'hority in ascertammg the great object and the motive of 
the Colonization Society, the public will be able to judge 
how far the quotations used by you accord with their 
meaning in their connection in that work, and whether 
you have better reason to conclude the great object of 
the Colonization Society to be the promotion •• of the 
voluntary separation of the colored from the white race' 
than the cimlizaiion of Africa, In ordinary language, of 
several important objects, the most important we desig- 
nate as the great one. The position which the civiliza- 
tion of Africa holds in the passage copied from the lAfe 
of Jishmun^ shows that it was so regarded by the writer. 
But he is not alone. At the first meeting of the Society, 
before its constitution was adopted, Mr. Caldwell (after- 
wards its Secretary,) said : — 

"'But, Mr. Chairman, I have a greater and nobler 
object in view in desiring them [the free people of color] 
to be placed in Africa. It is the belief that through them 
civilization and the Christian religion would be intro- 
duced into that benighted quarter of the world. It is the 
hope of redeeming many millions of people from the 
lowest state of ignorance and superstition, and restoring 
them to the knowledge and worship of the true God. 
Great and powerful as are the other motives to this mea- 
sure, in my opinion, and you will find it the opinion of 
a large class of the community, all other motives are 
small and trifling compared with the hope of spreading 
among them the knowledge of the Gospel.' 

" Said General Harper, one of the most distinguished 
founders of the Society, in his letter published in the 
first report of the institution : — 

" ' The gr^eatest benefit, however, to be hoped from the 
12 



134 MISSION. 

enterprize, that which m contemplation most delights the 
philanthropic mind, still remains to be unfolded. It is 
the benefit to Africa herself, from this return of her sons 
to her bosom, bearing with them arts, knowledge, and 
civilization, to w^hich she has hitherto been a stranger.' 

" And what is the language of Mr. Clay, the present 
President of the Society, than whom, the cause of human 
freedom, as well as of this Society, has seldom, if ever, 
found a more able or eloquent advocate : — 

"• ' If the project did not look beyond the happiness of 
the two races now in America, it would be entitled to the 
warmest encouragement. But it presents a much more 
extensive field — a field only limited by the confines of 
one of the largest quarters of the habitable globe — for 
religious and benevolent exertion. Almost all Africa is 
in a state of the deepest ignorance and barbarism, and 
addicted to idolatry and superstition. It is destitute of 
the blessings both of Christianity and civilization. The 
Society is an instrument which, under the guidance of 
Providence, with public assistance, is competent to spread 
the lights of both throughout its vast dominions.' After 
stating that in one view of the subject it would send 6,000, 
and in another, 56,000 descendants of Africa annually to 
her shores, he adds, ' It will open forests, build towns, 
erect temples of public w^orship, and practically exhibit 
to the native sons of Africa the beautiful moral spectacle 
and the superior advantages of our religious and social 
systems. In this unexaggerated view of the subject, the 
colony, compared with other missionary plans, presents 
the force and grandeur of a noble steamer majestically 
ascending, and with ease subduing, the current of the 
Mississippi, in comparison with the feeble, tottering canoe, 
moving slowly among the reeds that fringe its shores. 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 135 

it holds up the image of the resistless power of the Mis- 
sissippi itself, rushing from the summits of the Rocky 
mountains, and marking its deep, and broad, and rapid 
course, through the heart of this continent, thousands of 
miles to the Gulf of Mexico, in comparison with that 
of an obscure rivulet winding its undiscernible way 
through dark and dense forests, or luxuriant prairies in 
which it is quickly and for ever lost.' 

" You remark, ' A Society that should have been formed 
by the Jamaica planters to promote the expatriation of 
all the free people of color born in that island, to Sierra 
Leone, would have presented a precise counterpart to the 
colonization scheme of the Virginia slave-holders.' 

"A small error in this sentence, my dear sir. You 
should have written contrast for counterpart. Another, 
in putting ' scheme of the Virginia slave-holders' for 
' scheme of the American Colonization Society,' which, 
at its adoption, received no less the sanction of the ndw- 
slave-holders of Pennsylvania, New York and New 
England, than of the slave-holders of Virginia. But 3'ou 
may say, perhaps, that the plan of African colonization 
was discussed in the Virginia Legislature in 1802 ; and 
adopted, you must allow me to add, by Dr. Fothergill 
(an eminent member and preacher of the Society of 
Friends) and Granville Sharp, in 1782; prosecuted by 
Paul Cuffee, an intelligent and benevolent man of color, 
from New England, in 1811. Perhaps, if it throws odium 
upon the colonization scheme, to call it the scheme of 
the Virginia slave-holders, it may clear away this odium, 
possibly render it attractive, to denominate it, with the 
same justice, the scheme of those venerable and illustri- 
ous abolitionists. Dr. Fothergill and Granville Sharp, or 
of tliat excellent man of color, Capt. Paul Cuffee. But. 



136 MISSION. 

sir, between your supposed Jamaica Society and the 
American Colonization Society, I discover but one point 
of resemblance, and at least /owr points of difference. 

" First. They are both societies, and have to do with 
persons of color. In this they agree. 

" They differ, first, in that the Jamaica Society is a 
body of slave-holders, the Colonization Society of slave- 
holders and non-slave-holders. 

" Second. The Jamaica Society is an expatriating So- 
ciety ; the American Colonization Society one to aid the 
colonization of voluntary emigrants. 

" TJiird. The Jamaica Society would force their free 
blacks from one English colony to another, where they 
will have as little or less chance of rising to a distinct, 
social, and political existence ; the Colonization Society 
would aid the free colored people of America to escape 
from embarrassment, and found free States and the church 
on the African shores, the honors and blessings of which 
are to be their own for ever. 

" Fourth. As the Jamaica scheme is to drive the free 
colored people from one place to a distant one, no better, 
at least, for themselves, and the colonization scheme to 
encourage the same class in working out their redemption 
from all the disabilities and degradations of their condi- 
tion, and imparting the most precious benefits of art, 
civilization, and Christianity, to a dark and degenerate 
quarter of the globe ; the first is marked by selfishness, 
the last replete with philanthropy. 

" I have not alluded to an insinuation of yours, touch- 
ing the ' import trade,' as though you would suggest that 
slaves from Africa are still introduced into the United 
States. I know not that such a thing has occurred for 
years. To introduce them into any part of the American 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 137 

Union, is piracy, and punisliable with death, and no peo- 
ple are more disposed to see this law enforced than the 
citizens of every portion of the United States. 

" The length of tliis letter must be attributed, sir, to 
an attachment, which I trust ever ardently to cherish, to 
truth, justice, and humanity. Whatever else I may take 
with me from England, I shall certainly depart v/ith the 
consciousness of having honestly and earnestly sought 
to harmonize opinion between virtuous minds in this 
country and my own, on one of the greatest questions 
that can occupy attention, and, what is more, to unite 
their sympathies and affections. It is a union of hearts 
I seek. Even the majesty of reason has no power to 
awe in the hurricane of the passions. Would to God 
that the heart of the universal Church were penetrated 
by those words of supreme authority, ^Let all wrath, 
and anger, and evil-speaking, be put away from you with 
all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, 
loving one another, and forgiving one another, even as 
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you.' I am no 
apologist, as has been said, for any system of slavery. 
I would promote the liberty and happiness of every class 
and description of human beings ; but we must take care 
so to remedy evils, that the remedy prove not worse 
than the disease. You, sir, would not overthrow the 
fabric of the American constitution or subvert the Go- 
vernment of England^ because in both^ as in one of your 
magnificent cathedrals^ there may be imnting perfect 
beauty of proportion^ some stains, some flaws, be discerned 
amid the grandeur of their arches and their columns. 
My sensibilities are keenly alive to the trials of our slave 
population. Point to a single sentence which I ever 
wrote to show the reverse. The Life of Ashmun, (a 
12* 



138 MISSION. 

book which, for the merit of its subject, if no other, will 
live, while books live,) the Jlfrican Repository, conduct- 
ed by myself as sole editor for nearly ten years, contain, 
I venture to assert, not less sound, discreet, persuasive 
argument in favor of the emancipation of the slaves of 
the United States, and of general liberty, than exists in 
the same space in the whole range of English literature. 
" And, sir, little credit as may be given to the opinion 
in England, I shall, nevertheless, hazard it, because I be- 
lieve it to be true, that the persons who are prepared to 
make the largest sacrifices, to devote the most self-deny- 
ing exertions for the good of the slave population of 
America, are to be found among the people of the 
southern States. What my own views are on slavery, 
and the internal slave trade, may be more evident from 
the following passage, written in 1825, and published in 
the first volume of the African Repository, with which 
I conclude this communication : 

" ' That the slave trade is contrary to the lav/ of na- 
ture (says the Chief Justice of the United States,) will 
scarcely be denied, that every man has a natural right to 
the fruits of his own labor is generally admitted, and 
that no other person can rightfully deprive him of those 
fruits and appropriate them against his will, seems the 
necessary result of this admission.' ' Now, these funda- 
mental truths do not admit of application to the slave 
trade on the coast of Africa only, but to the whole 
alarming evil, which, throughout a vast portion of our 
land, grows with our growth, and strengthens with our 
strength. The inveteracy of this evil cannot change its 
moral or political tendency, nor in the least diminish the 
obligation to provide for it a remedy. To eradicate or 
remove the evil immediately is impossible, nor can any 



LETTER TO THE PATRIOT. 139 

law of conscience govern necessity. But in the same 
proportion as difficulties have been augmented by the 
remissness of the States, have the moral obligations of 
the States to make exertions been increased. If the citi- 
zens of the States in which the evil exists, deny (what 
we are not disposed to maintain,) that Congress has the 
right, without their consent, to exert any direct influence 
upon it, we hope they will perceive the fearful responsi- 
bility they assume to themselves, a responsibility for 
exemption from which many conscientious men, no 
doubt, truly rejoice. An inward sense of justice will 
unite with the claims of interest, and urge them by con- 
siderations of infinite force to commence efforts, which 
must be great as they are necessary, ^vhich cannot be 
begun too soon, which may, nay, have been, delayed too 
long.' 

"With great respect, I am, sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

"K. R. GURLEY. 
" LoxDox, Dec. 14, 1840." 

It has been stated, that at one, of several meetings, of a 
few friends of the Colonization Society, I was requested 
to prepare for publication an exposition of the views of 
that Society, and introduce such facts as might contribute 
to place the institution and Liberia in their true light be- 
fore the people of England. In compliance with this 
request, I sought to embody the reflections of some 
years, on the colonization and civilization of Africa, 
especially as connected with the interests of the descend- 
ants of Africa in the United States, in the following let- 
ter^ which appeared with several other documents, bear- 
ing upon the same^general subject, in a pamphlet form, 



140 MISSION. 

shortly before I left England. The expense of an 
edition of seven hundred copies of this letter, was most- 
ly defrayed by the subscriptions of some half a dozen 
generous individuals. 

A LETTER 

TO THE HON. HENRY CLAY, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN 
COLONIZATION SOCIETY, AND TO SIR THOMAS FOAVELL 
BUXTON, CHAIRMAN OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE OF 
THE AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY. 

"Gentlebien: I address you as representing, in an 
eminent manner, the more sober general views of the 
great body of the wise and good in England and Ameri- 
ca in regard to the measures demanded for the relief and 
elevation of the African race. On a subject so vast, 
complex, and difficult, neither you, nor those you respec- 
tively represent, may in all points agree, yet, doubtless, 
you and they are animated by the same pure motives, 
and seeking to effect the same grand object. To this 
object many years of my life have been devoted. My 
official connection with the American Colonization Soci- 
ety is terminated ; and from my present position I may 
review, perhaps, the opinions I have formed with less 
danger than heretofore from bias or partiality. The 
thoughts I express have been much considered, and I 
hope they may be deemed worthy of attention by the 
good people of the United States and of Great Britain. 

" There is much variety as well as peculiarity of mis- 
fortune in the condition of the African race. The great 
majority of this people still inhabit their ancient land of 
Africa, broken up into almost innumerable tribes, differ- 
ing, to some extent, in complexion, customs, knowledge, 
and superstitions, slightly united by social ties, governed 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 141 

by arbitrary chiefs with little form of law, and generally 
and deeply degraded by long prevalent barbarism, the 
rites of a debasing religion, by slavery and the slave 
trade. Estimates of the population of Africa have varied 
from sixty millions to one hundred and fifty millions, 
and probably the exact number lies between these two 
extremes. This vast population is spread over a country 
of great extent and fertility, abundant in resources, pene- 
trated by many large navigable rivers, and blessed with 
rich advantao'cs for agriculture and commerce wdth civi- 
lized nations. 

"A portion of this race occupy the British West 
Indian Islands, with advantages and encouragements for 
improvement, having been raised by the power of the 
English Government from slavery to freedom. 

" Another portion (not exceeding probably, altogether, 
including the free blacks of Mexico, five millions,) exist 
as slaves in the Brazils, Cuba, and the French, Spanish, 
Portuguese, Danish, and Dutch colonial possessions in 
various parts of the globe. 

" Another portion (about 3,000,000,) are in the United 
States, the majority in slavery in the Southern States of 
the Union, and about half a million free, and scattered 
throughout all the States. 

" Nearly one million of this people are in Hayti, self- 
governed, and, I trust, slowly improving, having by a 
fierce and bloody conflict cast off the chains of their 
former bondage. 

"Finally, a considerable number (though less we pre- 
sume than are in the same condition in Christian coun- 
tries,) are in slavery in the Mahomedan empire. 

" From this brief and very imperfect survey, it is evi- 
dent that the whole number of Africans in exile in all 



142 MISSION. 

parts of the world is small compared with that of those 
still residing on the soil of Africa. Nor can we doubt, 
from the facts and statements exhibited in the recent work 
on the slave trade and its remedy, that the greatest physi- 
cal evils endured by the African race result from the 
slave trade, which, though utterly condemned by the 
general opinions and laws of Christian nations, is never- 
theless prosecuted by avarice and inhumanity to an un- 
precedented extent, attended by the most shockingly 
criminal and cruel acts, and an immense waste of human 
life. Nearly or quite half a million of wretched Afri- 
cans are annually torn from their homes, a moiety of 
whom perish in capture, during their march to the coast, 
in the holds of slave ships on their passage across the 
ocean, or during the first trials of toil and exposure in a 
foreign climate. In view of an evil so terrible, so 
enormous, it becomes all humane and Christian men 
immediately, solemnly, and with their might, to exert 
themselves to discover and apply the remedy, and, un- 
mindful of minor differences of sentiment and all merely 
personal considerations, to unite in measures the most 
efficient for the relief of such inexpressible miseries, and 
the redress of such atrocious wrongs as are involved in 
the slave trade. Yet as the source and seat of this trade 
is in the barbarism and degradation of Africa, all mea- 
sures will prove, we fear, but palliative of the evil, which 
do not include as an end the civilization and elevation of 
the African race. The great inquiry should be, I con- 
ceive, Ho7v shall the greatest good^ in the shortest time^ 
he conferred upon the greatest nuviber of this afflicted 
and injured jjeojile f 

" In this inquiry other questions, than those concerning 
the injustice of establishing or perpetuating either the 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 143 

slave trade or slavery are involved. I know not that in 
England and America the slave trade has any advocates 
or defenders, and slavery as an original and permanent 
system will find few among civilized nations. But to 
show how the efforts of philanthropy shall be combined 
and directed, so as to suppress utterly the African slave 
trade, secure the abolition of slavery, without detriment, 
and with advantage to all parties, and in all countries 
where it exists, and the civilization of Africa, so darkened 
and debased by ignorance, superstition, oppression, and 
vice, and this in the shortest possible period, is a matter 
of vital importance to the honor of our religion and the 
interests of humanity. 

" Nor are we in danger of over-estimating the magni- 
tude and grandeur of an enterprize embracing prospec- 
tively the many millions, with their future descendants, 
of one of the largest quarters of the globe, the millions 
from that country now in exile and chains in other lands, 
with their descendants, and affecting, as in its progress 
and results it must, the political, social, and commercial 
condition of several civilized and powerful nations. 
Human thought and ability are often wasted upon insig- 
nificant and even unworthy objects. Those which rightly 
demand our sympathy and aid, are frequently very limit- 
ed in the number, extent, and duration of their benefits. 
We open the village school, give food, clothing, or shel- 
ter to the destitute, rear asylums for those stricken down 
by misfortune, or touched in body or estate by the chas- 
tening hand of God, and rejoice even if a few of his 
rational creatures, our brethren, derive relief, or find so- 
lace and unwonted joy from the ministrations of our 
hands ; but when a continent cries to us for succor ; 
when millions, perishing, make to us their appeal ; when 



144 MissiOi\. 

a whole race of men, a large proportion of the entire 
human family, call upon us for deliverance from unuttera- 
ble wrongs and miseries, and a participation in the choicest 
blessings which the Divine Father, in the bounty of his 
grace, has bestowed upon ourselves, it were a disgrace 
for which we could never atone, to remain unmoved or 
inactive. The evils to be remedied, the good to be con- 
ferred by our Christian exertions in such a case, surpass 
the boundaries of the human imagination, the compre- 
hension of any finite mind. As in charity there can be 
no excess, neither can there be of zeal in such a cause ; 
for here enthusiasm is sobriety. 

" Though my opinion is, that of all measures of gen- 
eral policy for the benefit of the African race, the colo- 
nization in Africa of free persons of color, with their 
own consent, on the principles developed in the colony 
of Liberia, is the best which can at present be adopted 
by American and English philanthropists, I am not insen- 
sible to the value of many subordinate and auxiliary 
plans, or to the purity of m.otive by which they are sus- 
tained. In various channels and from various points, the 
charities of the Christian world may flow forth and finally 
commingle in one and the same broad stream of benefi- 
cence to Africa. 

" But if the scheme of colonization suggested, as, at 
present, the main plan of benefit to the African race^ sur- 
passes any and all others in efficiency and advantage ; if at 
its commencement, and for several years to come, it re- 
quire great energy and resources, the opinion of England 
and America should be united for its support. Opinion 
is becoming the mistress of states and of the world. How 
mighty the reason and benevolence of these two coun- 
tries acting together and for the same end ! How disas- 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 145 

trous to the hopes of Africa slioiild their opinions on this 
subject tend in opposite directions, neutralize each other, 
if not exhaust their strength in the fierceness of contro- 
versy or the bitterness of reproach and recrimination. 

" And here it may be important to state the moral 
principle which should govern the friends of the African 
race, in endeavors and enterprizes for their benefit ; 
and to show that it is the same, which by the Divine 
law, each and every man is bound to manifest in his 
conduct towards one and all of his fellow men. It is 
simply that principle of justice and benevolence embodied 
in the golden rule of the Saviour of the world. In its 
application to the inhabitants and descendants of Africa, 
there is no peculiarity unless it lie in the strength of 
reasons 'which urge this application on account of the 
greatness of their wrongs and the extremity of their 
miseries. Possibly, also, we may be specially bound to 
remedy evils which our own crimes or those of our 
immediate ancestors have produced. But with these 
qualifications, oar duty to the African race is the same 
owed by us to any other people in like circumstances. 

"The law of Christianity enjoining reciprocal and 
equal benevolence, universally, and at all times, between 
man and man, is the sole foundation of human rights, 
and this general law can, in the innumerable cases, not 
defined or settled by particular Divine precepts, be obey- 
ed only by such acts and methods as an honest reason 
shall prescribe. The principle of this law, perfect and 
immutable, holds authority over all human society, but 
in its application to particular circumstances, conditions, 
and individuals of this society, varies endlessly, involves 
every question of expediency, and requires the exercise 
of our highest faculties, of the soundest and most saga- 
13 



146 MISSION. 

cious judgment. No one can doubl the truth of this 
doctrine who vvdll reflect upon his own conduct for a 
single day. Why bestows he ahns upon this destitute 
person and not upon that, sustains this proposed mea- 
sure for the public advantage and not that other, but in 
recognition of the fact that in most of the actions and 
duties of life, Christianity governs by general laws, 
leaving human reason to study the lessons of experi- 
ence, and to select and apply the means and methods of 
beneficence. In all domestic, social, and political life, 
and in ten thousand forms, this fact is manifested every 
hour, and Avhile I see in it, for many reasons, a peculiar 
wisdom and a high moral discipline, 1 know that, had it 
been otherwise, and special laws dictated and prescribed 
each and every act of our lives, the world itself would 
not contain the books that had been written. 

" The rights of man imply corresponding obligations, 
and the existence of one or both between men, presup- 
poses human society. I am dealing nov/ with the 
morale of the subject, and not with its artificial or mere- 
ly legal aspects. INTo reasoning, then, on the rights of 
man, is of force or value, which treats him as solitary 
and alone, or which rests merely upon the dignity and 
immortality of his nature. Nor is it possible to disco- 
ver, independent of a serious attention to circumstances 
and consequences, from the preceptive code of Chris- 
tianity, m>any of the rights of others, and of our par- 
ticular obligations of duty, and not less rational is 
he, who, because God has left to him the free use 
of his limbs, confronts the steam engine in its velo- 
city, or dares the wrath of all the elements, than he 
who, in his plans of benevolence, overlooks the fact, 
that not more perfect or imbending in principle, than 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 147 

comprehensive and accommodating in the modes of its 
application to human society and human affairs, is the 
Divine law, regulating things on earth as in heaven, par- 
tially by exact definitions and rules, but mostly by purity 
of motive and the all-hallowing and benign influences of 
reciprocal and universal love. So far as any system of 
political or personal slavery violates the specific precepts 
or the general laws of Christianity, it must be condemned, 
and should be immediately abolished, yet whether such a 
system be for a time, on the whole, right or wrong, it 
is clear, that the duties and rights of individuals invested, 
thereby, with authority, or bound to submission and ser- 
vitude, are affected and modified by a state of things, 
which exists, perhaps, (if they are in a minority,) without 
their choice, and which neither one nor both of them find 
it possible to control. As they neither established the 
system, may not desire to perpetuate and cannot abolish it, 
they must fulfil the royal law according to the Scriptures 
by such acts of mutual justice and kindness as are com- 
patible with the necessities of their condition and the 
public welfare. 

" Men, as individuals, and society, as a body of indi- 
viduals, are equally bound to do what they can to reform 
abuses, promote justice, and seek the perfectibility of all 
social and political institutions \ yet in regard to the 
means they adopt for these great ends, they must be 
mainly governed by their own judgments, deliberately 
and conscientiously formed under responsibilities to the 
Author of all wisdom, the Supreme Kuler of the world. 

"Much controversy in regard to slavery, arises from 
the different meanings given by different writers to that 
term, some using it as synonymous with the act of re- 
ducing a free person to involuntary and perpetual servi- 



148 MISSION. 

tilde ; others, as that system or mstitution of society 
which legalizes and makes hereditary this servitude; 
some as a wrong involving every crime committed to- 
wards slaves where such an institution prevails ; some as 
the mere condition of the slaves ; and others as simply 
the relation existing between the individual master and 
his slaves, the effects of which must clearly depend very 
much upon the character of the persons and the peculiar 
circumstances of the case. Some deem slavery, however 
modified, and wherever existing, so entirely and intolera- 
bly criminal, that for its overthrow they would willingly 
hazard all consequences, and in their enthusiasm for what 
they term the inalienable rights of humanity, violate the 
rights of independent communities, the long acknow- 
ledged and sanctioned laws of nations. 

" States and individuals are alike bound by the general 
and special laws of the Christian religion, and to hold or 
treat human beings as mere property, I regard as a viola- 
tion of the principles of that religion ; yet it by no means 
follows that all masters, form the very nature of the rela- 
tion they sustain to their slaves, are to be condemned, or 
that the state in which slavery exists, is bound to proclaim 
immediate, unconditional, universal, and entire emanci- 
pation. The relation of master does not oblige the 
master to treat the slave as mere property. The state 
may repeal all laws which thus regard the slave, short of 
an act of unconditional and entire emancipation. Even 
the liabilities to evil to which particular slaves are ex- 
posed in the service of Christian masters in America, 
may be less than those to which they would be exposed, 
at present, by an act of emancipation. But it may be 
said, the liabilities to evil of particular slaves by emanci- 
pation, could not exist were there general emancipation. 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 149 

This may be true ; but I am speaking of things as they 
are, and not as they might be, and of the modification of 
the duties of individuals by the condition of society. 
To illustrate, then, my meaning, the slave of a hum.ane 
master may have a family connected, as slaves, with a 
neighboring plantation, and emancipation might expose 
him, as in some cases it would, to separation from his 
wife and children, by removal from the state, and thus 
prove to him a curse rather than a blessing. It may be 
true that his liabilities to evil in slavery are less than they 
would be in freedom. 

" If we look to a republican confederacy, like that of 
the United States, of many states, in one-half of which 
slavery exists, and in the other not, where the evil was 
planted, in opposition to earnest and repeated remon- 
strances from the people, then colonially dependent, by 
a ruling but foreign power; where the numbers in slavery 
are large, in some states a majority of the population; 
distinct from all other classes in origin and complexion ; 
uneducated, and incapable of self-government, it is clear 
that those providently entrusted with political control, 
must look to the general welfare, consider the interests of 
others as well as of the slaves, and that they would dis- 
regard the highest obligations should they by sudden 
and rash changes, expose the country to revolution, or 
all the horrors of civil war. The temper of the people 
is to be observed as well as the physical condition of 
society, the helm of power is not to be smTendered to 
unsafe or incompetent hands, and it must be remembered, 
for the sake of the slaves themselves, that restraints upon 
the freedom of men are sometimes among their dearest 
rights. My purpose, however, is not to discuss the whole 
question of slavery, but to show, that in regard to that, as 
13* 



150 MISSION. 

well as to most other evils in the world, Christian discre- 
tion should be exercised under the general law of Chris- 
tian benevolence, and that those writers and (many such 
recent ones there are) who confound all distinctions 
between slavery and the African slave trade; between 
the guilt of him who reduces free men to slavery and of 
him who receives by inheritance an estate upon which 
are slaves, made such by laws enacted by generations 
that died before he was born ; between the conduct of a 
parent nation, forcing, for gain, this evil of slavery upon 
her colonies, disposed, but unable, to resist, and that of 
those colonies become independent states, and in view of 
the diflerences of their free and slave population and the 
near equality of their numbers, hesitating to attempt 
emancipation, mainly from apprehensions that such an 
attempt would produce evils greater than slavery itself; 
disregard or leave unnoticed the deeper and more im- 
portant elements in the subject, from which alone we can 
frame arguments for the enfranchisement of their slaves, 
convincing to the slave-holders, because just to facts and 
to motives, and trusting rather to their sense of obliga- 
tion to do good unto all men, than to the imagined wis- 
dom of our own suggestions, how tliis obligation, in the 
particular case, shall be discharged. 

" I have no thought or wish to apologize for any of the 
sins and wrongs of slavery. The doctrine I maintain 
appears to me the doctrine of Christianity, and better 
adapted (as surely it must be if such,) to secure the free- 
dom and happiness of the slaves than any one more 
austere, and less capable of being discriminately applied 
to the ever varying existence and circumstances of human 
beings. It is of the perfection as well as equity of the 
Divine Law, not to hold the state responsible for crimes 



LETTER TO CLAY AISD BUXTON. 151 

which no state legislation could prevent or punish, nor the 
individual bound to redress wrongs and evils created and 
sanctioned by state authority, and which he is unable 
either to arrest or control. True, every man should, by 
his influence and example, plead for righteousness ; and 
from the retirements of individual souls must emanate the 
power to conquer evil; gradually, increasingly and with- 
out disturbance, pervade the bodies politic of states and 
kingdoms, establish justice in the seats of renown, and 
crown charity queen of the world, — the power of Divine 
truth, wisdom, and love. 

" Slavery (I speak now of the system) in the United 
States and other countries, is one of the many forms of 
oppression which all good men must desire to see speedily, 
and with advantage to all parties, abolished. Originating 
in the errors and crimes of a former age, closely inter- 
woven with all the institutions and habits of society, 
strengthened by interest and time, and in America, depend- 
ing upon no power or authority except the states, indi- 
vidually, where it exists, the reason, conscience, and will 
of the masters, are the principal, if not only channels, 
through which the influences of truth and kindness can 
operate successfully for its removal. Let such influences 
alone operate. Censure, reproach, interference by citi- 
zens of other states, tend but to add rigor to the bondage, 
and gloom to the prospects of the slave population. And 
it should be known in England, as it is known in America, 
that the sentiments, the jugdments, the institutions of the 
people of the United States are on the side of general 
liberty. The people of these states generally, regard 
slavery as an anomaly to the entire spirit and plan of their 
political being, and therefore its toleration and support 
must be traced to some powerful reasons in tlieir minds, 



152 MISSION. 

unconnected with their general views of politics and 
society. These reasons arise from the wide differences in 
complexion, history, character, and condition, between 
those of Anglo-Saxon and African descent, which are 
thought to render intimate, social and political union 
between them impracticable if desirable, and undesirable 
if practicable, injurious to both, and of benefit to neither, 
and from the dangers of collision, were both free on the 
same soil, should such union not be effected. If these 
ideas be erroneous, they are general and powerful, you 
cannot meet and overcome them by argument, for they 
spring from association and sympathies ; they may die, 
but cannot be conquered. 

" I have expressed the opinion that the colonization of 
free persons of color, with their own consent, in Africa, 
on the principles developed in the establishment and 
progress of Liberia, is, of all plans practicable at present, 
most deserving support in England and America, because 
of highest utility and promise to the African race. 

" The history of the colony of Liberia, though brief, 
is full of interest and instruction to the student of human 
nature, and particularly to those philanthropists who 
seek to civilize Africa, and elevate the minds of her 
children. Granville Sharp, Dr. Fothergill, and their 
associates, had founded Sierra Leone. The rude mate- 
rials with which they commenced their work, and extra- 
ordinary disasters, soon compelled them to commit the 
destinies of this colony to the English Government ; and 
tliough it looks out brightly and encouragingly from the 
African shore, it has hardly fulfilled the best hopes of its 
earliest friends. The colony of Liberia owes its exist- 
ence to a benevolent American Society, has no connec- 
tion with the Government, and from it has derived but 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 153 

occasional, and, compared with that of individuals, but 
small aid. The wise and good men who, twenty-four 
years ago, organized the American Colonization Society, 
proposed a plan of benevolence to the African race, so 
simple and unobjectionable, that the citizens of the whole 
United States might contribute to its support, so power- 
ful in its tendencies of good in all directions, and com- 
prehensive in its promised beneficence, as to want, in 
theory, at least, little if anything of perfection. This 
plan was, to purchase from the African chiefs a suitable 
and sufficiently extended territory, and to assist such 
bold and energetic free men of color, residing in the 
United States, as might' desire to emigrate, to found 
thereon a free and Christian state, which, from the nature 
of its institutions, the development of its principles and 
resources, and the discipline of its circumstances must 
strengthen and elevate the intellect and moral character 
of its citizens ; by example and endeavors plant and pro- 
pagate civilization and Christian doctrine in Africa ; sup- 
press the slave trade ; react powerfully upon America to 
promote emancipation by means disconnected from dan- 
ger, demanded by general justice, and fraught with bless- 
ings never yet attained by it, to the liberated Africans 
and to their race ; thus showing by experiment, and de- 
monstrating in fact, how this race may cast off the 
incumbrances and entanglements of their thraldom, and 
self-respected, because deserving praise, stand in dignity 
and honor before the world. It is the peculiar excellen- 
cy of this plan, that for its success, reliance is mainly 
placed upon the ability of the descendants and people of 
Africa themselves, when favored in position and stimu- 
lated by high motives, to rise from their degradation, 
assume a national character, and secure prosperity and a 



154 MISSION. 

name among the nations. The purpose of the Society- 
has been to place the objects of its bounty in such a 
position, and supply to them such motives. Poor are 
the richest endowments of fortune, compared with the 
acquisitions of the mind. Worthless are the distinctions 
Avhich others may confer on us, compared with those we 
may, by great acts and great endurance, achieve for our- 
selves. It has been by toil and trial, by suffering and 
conflict, by self-denial and self-discipline, by hazardous 
adventure and often by the iron hand of necessity, that 
individuals and nations have ascended from weakness, 
obscurity, and disgrace, to power and grandeur. 

"Since a band of persecuted pilgrims, impelled by 
concern for the rights of conscience and the truths of 
God, first trod the icy and rock-bound coast of New 
England, few events of higher moral interest or sublimity 
have occurred than the establishment of the colony of 
Liberia. Much praise is due to the Colonization Society, 
but far more to the heroic men of color who went forth, 
at the peril of their lives, with no safeguard but Provi- 
dence, to plant the seeds of liberty and Christianity in 
the most barbarous quarter of the world, and there, far 
away from the arm of any civilized government, in the 
face of a fierce and mighty opposition, to rear the fabric 
of a free, well-ordered, and religious commonwealth. It 
is true that this small company of brave adventurers in 
the cause of their race, have been assisted by teachers 
and guides from among the whites, and Heaven has 
smiled upon them ; yet it is to their own awakened 
energy, their industry, resolution, courage, ai»d faith in 
God, that we must mainly attribute their success. The 
world has little observed, perhaps less applauded them. 
Probably not one in a thousand in this metropolis has 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTOjV. 155 

any knowledge of their existence. Yet they have 
founded a republican and Christian state in Africa, which 
promises to grow and extend itself for ages, and consti- 
tuted and adapted in the whole character of its institu- 
tions and lav.'s to kindle the individual mind, and give 
full play to all those intellectual and moral faculties 
w^iich, nobly exercised, exalt men to greatness, may 
prove a central light and power to revive and renovate 
their country and their race. 

" But to be more specific in regard to the principles 
embodied and developed in the colony of Liberia. 

" It is designed for a national and independent politi- 
cal existence. 

" Its institutions are republican, or in the hands of the 
people. 

" Control over them is reserved to the people of color. 

"Slavery can have no existence within the limits of 
the colony. 

" All transactions with the native tribes are to be con- 
ducted on principles of exact justice. 

"Both law and practice are in hostility to the slave 
trade. 

"Provision is to be made for universal education. 

" No preference is to be given to any religious sect, but 
perfect, and therefore equal, toleration is secured to all. 

"Missionaries of all Christian denominations among 
the native Africans are to be countenanced and encour- 
aged in their work. 

"Colored emigrants are aided by the Society during 
six months after their arrival, receive donations of land, 
and having taken possession of the same, and cultivated 
a fow acres, become entitled to all the Privileges of citi- 
zenshin. 



156 MISSION. 

" Various, recent, and unexceptionable testimony from 
sources, English as well as American, might be adduced 
to show how these principles, incorporated in its consti- 
tution, laws, and the manners and sentiments of its citi- 
zens, are so well adapted to make it a contented, enter- 
prizing, improving, religious community, aiding to sup- 
press the slave trade, and to diffuse a knowledge of civi- 
lization and Christianity among the native African tribes. 

"This colony of Liberia, (including the settlements 
founded by the people of Maryland at Cape Palmas,) 
extends from that point lat. 4° 10' N., to Cape ]\Iount lat. 
6° 45' N., a distance by the coast of about three hundred 
miles, and varying in extent interior, from ten to forty 
miles. The Governor of the principal colony is a white 
man, that of Maryland, a man of color, educated in New 
England. The governments of both are founded upon 
the consent of the people, and administered by officers 
of their own choice. The beautiful and thriving towns 
or villages of Monrovia^ Caldwell^ JYew Georgia^ Mills- 
hiirg^ Marshall., Greenville^ Bassa Cove., Edina^ Bexley^ 
Rozenherg., Harj^cr., and others, adorn this coast, so 
recently covered with barbarism^, and exposed to all 
the atrocities and horrors of the slave trade. Eighteen 
churches and many schools are established. Of several 
thousand emigrants from the United States, about two 
thousand were manumitted by benevolent masters, and 
assisted to take possession of this their long lost, but 
now recovered, and we trust, secure and permanent in- 
heritance. The exports from this colony, consisting of 
ivory, camwood, palm oil, tortoise-shell, gold, beeswax, 
and hides, has amounted to from one to two hundred 
thousand dollars annually, for several years, while an 
equal amount of American and European manufactures 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 157 

has been receiA^ed in return. Several small coasting ves- 
sels, (not fewer than twelve or fifteen,) manned and navi- 
gated by the colonists, are constantly engaged from Mon- 
rovia, the principal seaport, in a profitable trade along 
seven hundred miles of the coast. Seldom is the harbor 
of this town without foreign vessels, nearly one hundred 
of which, from the United States, England, France, Swe- 
den, Portugal, and Denmark, touch there every year. 
The country possesses great advantages for agriculture, 
as well as commerce ; cotton, coffee, sugar, rice, indigo, 
palm-oil, with ivory, and many rich gums, drugs, and 
spices from the forest, may, by industry and energy, be 
produced or obtained in large quantities for exportation. 

" The respect for good morals and religion is general 
and great. Three years ago, theie were about eight hun- 
dred members of the Christian church ; profaneness and 
intoxication are almost unknown, and as early as 1834, 
a Temperance Society, in a few weeks after its organiza- 
tion, reckoned on its list five hundred members, at that 
time, one-fifth of the entire population. Nowhere is the 
Sabbath more regarded, or Divine worship attended with 
more apparent devotioii. In some settlements, the sale 
of ardent spirits is entirely prohibited by law ; every- 
where the use of them is discouraged by public opinion. 
Some thirty African chiefs have consented by treaty to 
discontinue the slave trade, and many thousands of the 
native population have placed themselves under the pro- 
tection and authority of the Colonial Government. 

" The ministers of the Gospel, about forty in number, 
hold religious meetings during the week, as well as on 
Sundays, and give religious instruction in the native vil- 
lages. The legislative council, the courts of justice, the 
lyceums, societies for mental improvement, and for pur- 
14 



\ 

158 MISSION. 

poses of benevolence, the ably conducted presses, the 
public library, the ardent desire for knowledge pervading 
the whole community, a well organized militia, and nu- 
merous civil officers discharging their duties with skill 
and fidelity, are impressive evidences of improvement, 
and of the efficiency of the principles, inculcated and 
embodied in the colonization of Liberia. To the mental 
discipline, the force of motives, elevated and constant, 
the kindling up of hope, in view of an almost boundless 
prospect of honor and usefulness, must we ascribe th& 
conduct and success of the people of this colony. 

" Nor should I omit to mention how the gates of Africa 
have been opened through this colony, for the admission 
of missionaries, and other Christian teachers, to her 
native population, and that sixty such persons, sustained 
in their most benevolent effi^rts, by four of the principal 
denominations of American Christians, have entered upon 
this field, never before visited by the messengers of peace 
and salvation, and been welcomed by its rude occupants, 
ready to receive the words of Divine wisdom, and to 
escape from the bondage and shadow of death. 

" In sundry important particulars there is, between the 
American Colonization Society, and the African Civiliza- 
tion Society of England, an exact agreement. 

" In their utter detestation of the African slave trade, 
tliey agree : 

" In the opinion, that for its overthrow, we should not 
rest contented, to abide the slow progression of the prin- 
ciples of justice, throughout the world, but lay by far the 
greatest stress, on all those efforts which may tend to 
enlighten and civilize tlie African mind, they agree : 

" In the choice of Africa, as the great theatre for their 
operations, they agree : 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 159 

** In the principal agents to be employed in their enter- 
prize, free persons of color of African descent, they agree : 

" In the design and importance of endeavors, by peaceful 
and fair negotiation, to obtain the consent of the chiefs, 
and natives of Africa, to abolish the slave trade, they agree : 

" In many of the means for the civilization of the people 
of Africa ; the establishment of schools, for literary and 
religious instruction, of manufactories and workshops, in 
in which shall be taught, the useful arts ; of model farms, 
to show practically the best modes of agriculture ; in 
the encouragement of Christian missions, and, finally, in 
the purpose of demonstrating to the view of the inhabi- 
tants of Africa, how they may avail themselves of the vast 
resources of their country, and find it their interest, as it 
is their duty, to abolish the traffic in slaves, tJiey agree : 

" In their ideas of the vast extent of good to be attained 
by their exertions, they agree : 

" On two points only, in their contemplated operations 
in Africa, they may differ, yet independent of any reasons 
which I shall be able to offer in favor of a perfect union, 
I am not sure, that even on these, they will long disagree. 

" I refer first, to the establishment of colonies or com- 
munities of free persons of color in Africa, destined to 
self-government and to a permanent and independent 
political existence; and second, to the question of tem- 
porary authority to be exercised over such colonies, for 
their benefit by the Governments of England or the United 
States. The able Chairman of the General Committee of 
the Civilization Society has indeed declared, that their 
object is to civilize, not to colonize ; yet in the same let- 
ter he adds, ' It is true, I may be desirous that we should 
form settlements, and even that we should obtain the right 



160 MISSION. 

of jurisdiction in certain districts, because we could not 
otherwise secure a fair trial or full scope for our normal 
schools, our model farms, and our various projects to 
awaken the minds of the natives, to prove to them the 
importance of agriculture, and to excite the spirit of com- 
merce ;' and Sir George Stephen regards colonization (if 
we mistake not,) as a thing incidental, if not necessary to 
the execution of the plan of the committee ; and while 
the Chairman desires the authority of the Government to 
be extended over such territory as may be acquired, one 
of his associates, perhaps not less distinguished than him- 
self, thinks this authority, if granted, will be but tempo- 
rary ; and that free men of color from all parts of the 
world will soon be invited and assisted to occupy this 
territory as independent communities. On these points 
it is clear the plans of the Civilization Society are not 
matured. That the Governments of England and America 
should extend, for a time, a protecting and fostering care 
over colonies planted in Africa by benevolent individuals 
or societies, may be admitted ; the writer has on proper 
occasions urged the friends of the African race in America, 
to make their appeal, to the several governments of the 
Union for aid to the cause of African colonization ; yet 
neither he nor they have once thought of turning from 
that object the very lode-star in their policy — the estab- 
lishment of colonies with the spirit, ability, and right to 
frame and build up their own social and political institu- 
tions as a free and independent people. 

"For one, I hold, that in our endeavors to civilize 
Africa, it is unwise to rely solely or mainly upon indi- 
vidual missionaries, or upon any companies of men not 
bound together voluntarily by social and political ties, 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 161 

and that the colonial system of England, though not on the 
whole an evil,* is very imperfectly adapted to develop 
the power and exalt the character of the native popula- 
tion of the countries over which it extends. The author 
of the work on the slave trade, and its remedy, will con- 
cur in this opinion. But to multiply colonies of free 
men of color in Africa, on the principles of Liberia, is to 
introduce impressive examples of order, law, and govern- 
ment, to furnish to the colonists themselves the strongest 
and most animating motives for improvement, and to 
command the respect while we enlighten the minds of the 
native population. The opinion of the learned and able 
superintendent of the Missions of the London Society, at 
the Cape of Good Hope, (Dr. Philip,) is entitled to high 

* " ' Our colonies, which, owing to their youth and distance from 
the parent state, ought to have excited and called into operation a 
larger share of maternal interest, have been sadly misused. The 
incalculable riches which from the lap of abundance they may 
have even offered to pour forth on the shores of Albion, have 
been fatuitously in many instances, rejected, and the golden oppor- 
tunity of binding with a silken chain of commerce the east and 
the west, and the south and the north of the empire, too often sa- 
crificed for the sake of private gain and the promotion of selfish 
interests. But it is to be hoped that the progress of knowledge — 
the extension of colonial commerce, and the light of the Gospel 
with which the ministers of religion are illuminating every land, 
will awaken attention to the transmarine dominions of England, 
where the statesman, guided by the precepts of Christianity, may 
fortify our empire for ages, where the merchant may in activity 
follow his peaceful and civilizing pursuits, where the naturalist 
may delight in scenes of exquisite and endless beauty, adorned with 
every variety of the animal and vegetable creation, where the 
philanthropist may exult in the progressive improvement of his 
fellow creatures, and, above all, where the Christian may rejoice 
in the anticipation of that prophesied kingdom whose branches 
and roots are to extend throughout the universe.' " — M. Martin. 
14* 



162 



MISSION. 



respect. 'I say nothing,' he observes, 'of the advantage s 
America may gain from the colony of Liberia, or of the 
advantages the people of color may gain from becoming 
citizens of this new country. 1 leave such questions to 
be settled by the citizens of the United States, who are 
by their local knowledge better qualified than I am to 
decide them. But so far as our plans for the future 
improvement of Africa are concerned, I regard this settle- 
ment as full of promise to this unhappy continent. Half 
a dozen such colonies, conducted on Christian principles, 
might be the means, under the Divine blessing, of regen- 
erating this degraded quarter of the globe, Every pro- 
spective measure for the improvement of Africa must have 
in it the seminal principles of good government, and no 
better plan can be devised for laying the foundation of 
Christian governments, than this new settlement presents. 
Properly conducted, your new colony may become an 
extensive empire, which may be the means of shedding 
the blessings of civilization and peace over a vast portion 
of this divided and distracted continent.' 

" Concurring, then, in many and very essential par- 
ticulars, as well as in benevolence of motive, it remains 
to be seen whether the African Civilization Society of 
England, and the American Colonization Society, will, on 
those just specified, ultimately agree. My confidence, at 
least, hope, that they will do so, rests upon a firm con- 
viction that the principles developed and applied in the 
colonization of Liberia, are so just in theory, and benefi- 
cent in practice, as finally to command the approbation 
of all philanthropists. I have great confidence in the 
candor, reasonableness, and benevolence of the African 
Civilization Society, and of the good people of England. 
They have recently shown an ardent and generous zeal 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 163 

in the cause of the suffering Africans. J believe them 
capable of disinterested and glorious deeds, nor do I 
deem my own countrymen less capable of such achieve- 
ments in this or any other enterprize of humanity. The 
two nations do not know, respect, trust, or love each 
other as they ought. Of one descent and religion, and 
living for common objects, the Christians of both coun- 
tries should feel bound together by sacred and indisso- 
luble ties, as the heirs of an eternal inheritance and com- 
munion, once exalted to which, (if for them regret and 
shame there exist,) for few sins wdll they experience more 
than for their violations towards each other of justice, 
brotherly kindness and charity. 

" The plan of colonizing Africa, developed in Liberia, 
I regard as the best general plan, at present, for the 
benefit of the African race. 

" First. Because it gives the noblest exercise to the 
minds of those Avho engage in it, and thus most effectu- 
ally improves and elevates their character. What work 
more honorable than to lay the first foundations of good 
government and the church of God ? What can so 
arouse the minds of a people, or so fan into a flame their 
enthusiasm for virtue, as to summon them to great and 
worthy actions — to give existence and form to a state, 

— to enact and administer laws, — to send out among 
uncivilized and untamed men, the voice of instruction 
and authority, — support the high prerogatives of justice 

— and as responsible to posterity, the world, and to God, 
to mark and seal the institutions of a newly organized 
society with indelible characters of wisdom. Nor let us 
think the people we would colonize, unsusceptible to the 
influence of lofty motives, or that by self-discipline, iw 
circumstances adapted to call into life their energies, and 



164 MISSIOiN-. 

to invigorate them, they may not win the reputation of 
wisdom. In minds improved only as theirs, she is the 
daughter of experience and high resolve. The free 
blacks of the United States, and many of the slaves also, 
are in that state from which nothing great is to be ex- 
pected, while they continue unexcited and in the shade 
of a greater people, but from which they must rise when 
untrammelled, and sent forth with due encouragements, 
to build up, unopposed by superior civilization, on the 
vast and rich lands of their mother country, their own 
fortunes, and to redeem their race. Their advantages for 
this work, inferior in some respects to those of the first 
settlers of America, are superior in others. With less 
knowledge of letters, they have more of the useful arts, 
of the free spirit of Christianity, and of the practical 
operations and benefit of free government. They have 
the records of their experience, and the light of their 
example, and before their eyes the mighty results of their 
deeds. Commerce brings them into connection with 
every enlightened and powerful people. The benevo- 
lence, tlie missionary spirit of a great nation, a spirit 
unequalled in any preceding age, is ready to second their 
exertions. Responsibilities are thrown upon them of 
surpassing interest and magnitude. Millions, their breth- 
ren, bound by superstition and slavery, appeal to them 
for light and deliverance. And, finally, defeat must be 
ruin, while success will be the attainment of every earthly 
blessing and eternal honor. 

" The plan of Liberian colonization is, then, peculiarly 
to be commended, because bringing into play and vigor- 
ous action the noblest mental faculties, and thus elevating 
the character of the colonists. I know of no other plan 
which does, I can hardly imagine another M^hich would 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 165 

do this, so effectually. Depressed by ages of servitude 
and habits of dependence, such exercise and discipline 
the African race especially need ; nor without it can we 
anticipate their rapid or great improvement. To exalt 
human character, we must touch the springs of the un- 
derstanding, and move the deep and generous passions 
of the heart. 

" In the second place, I regard this plan as chief and 
best, because relying mainly for success, not upon preca- 
rious, individual, or transitory effort, but upon the per- 
manency, growth, and moral influence of well organized 
communities. 

" A few individuals might die, a few schools be broken 
up, a company of missionaries, animated by the purest 
motives, and prepared to sacrifice 'every interest for the 
Christian cause, might be cut off by disease, or dispersed 
or slain by savage foes ; but a well-founded common- 
wealth is destined, ordinarily, to a continued and increas- 
ing existence. Though feeble in its origin, it has within 
it durable elements of life and power. The settlement 
rises into a state, the state to empire. The colony of 
Liberia has already, within itself, the means of self- 
defence and self-improvement. And if, in two centuries, 
the republic of North America, embracing a population 
of more than seventeen millions, has arisen from the 
humble beginnings of civilization on the shores of New 
England and Virginia, we may hope that our African set- 
tlements, so attractive (if politically free and morally de- 
serving,) as they must be to the exiled children of Africa, 
will rapidly expand into communities commanding re- 
spect by their wealth and numbers, their intelligence and 
strength. Their sons, natives of the soil, educated in all 
the arts of civilization, and in the doctrines and wisdom 



166 MISSION. 

of Christianity, will go forth, not by hundreds but thou- 
sands, to instruct barbarous and degraded tribes, and 
lead them to knowledge and liberty, and the worship of 
the true God. Let them convert the wildernesses of 
Africa into fruitful fields, her savage and enslaved people 
into civilized men, her victims of a cruel superstition 
into the meek disciples of Christ ; let them ' build one 
great city,'* for beauty and strength to be admired, and 
demonstrate their ability honorably to fulfil all the duties 
of an independent state, and the reproach of their race, 
and African slavery throughout the world must for ever 
cease. The plan, then, is admirable, because designed 
to trust, for the elevation of the African race, not to un- 
certain, uncombined, and transitory efforts, but to the 
bringing into existence and action the mighty moral ma- 
chinery of a well-formed and compacted state. 

" In the third place, I cannot but regard this plan as 
worthy of universal and all possible support, because (if 
I may continue the figure,) this moral machinery is 
rightly placed — in Africa. The colony, or colonies, are 
to be established in Africa: the country of the African 
race, where most of them reside, the seat of their ancient 
greatness, and of their more recent, long-continued, and 
present sufferings and disgrace, where alone, if, as a peo- 
ple, they are to be civilized and taught the truths of our 
religion, the work can be accomplished. Here the intel- 
lectual and moral power should be planted, to act as 
from a centre, most rapidly, extensively, and effectively 
to redress the wrongs and renovate the character of the 
race. Its benefits will not be limited to Africa. A civi- 
lized state of colored emigrants upon her shore will be 

* Dr. Breckenridge. 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 167 

an object of universal interest, react to raise their breth- 
ren in all those countries from which the colonists have 
come forth, disturb no passions of jealousy or fear, but 
speak persuasively to all hearts in favor of emancipation, 
and thus not only shed light upon Africa, but upon the 
destiny of all her children. It has been well said that, 
raise the character of a *• single man of color, and you 
do a benefit to his race ;'* and we may add, let one com- 
monwealth or nation of Africans attain honorable dis- 
tinction, and their brethren in all lands, and Africa her- 
self are free. The work should be done in Africa ; for if 
it could be done elsewhere, nowhere else could it be 
done so advantageously or so well. Here are by far the 
greatest number of Africans, and this the seat of the 
slave trade and their most wide-spread and appalling 
miseries. All the peculiar evils which afflict Africans 
centre here, and here only can we attack their foes in 
the fortresses of their strength. 

" Fourthly, every candid and reflecting m.an, in addi- 
tion to these reasons for giving support to this plan, may 
find inducement in the facts, that it most effectually pro- 
motes emancipation — aims to secure for the people of 
color now free, and those who may be manumitted, and 
to their race, a good far above and beyond mere emanci- 
pation — and, finally, that avoiding angry collisions and 
controversies, combining more elements in which the 
friends of the Africans agree, and fewer in which they 
differ, than any other ; if in itself no better, it may be 
more productive of good, because strengthened by the 
union of more minds, it may be executed v/ith greater 
power. 

* Dr. Bacon. 



168 MISSION. 

" For evidence that it promotes emancipation, I appeal 
to the opinion and testimony of all sober and Christian 
men in the southern States of the American Union, No 
one acquainted with these, will deny that they confirm 
my statement. And certainly the judgment of those 
men, of the effects of moral causes operating in the 
midst of them, is not to be disregarded. 

" By providing a home for the liberated, preferable to 
that in which they must unequally contend with the 
abilities and influence of the whites, it encourages the 
humanity that disposes to emancipation. 

" By the same means, it removes one, probably the 
greatest obstacle to emancipation, founded in the appre- 
hensions of collision between the colored and white 
races, should both be free upon the same soil ; an evil 
which it is thought would be worse than slavery itself. 

"By demonstrating how emancipation in the United 
States may (as on no other plan it would,) secure the 
highest boon of freedom, to the manumitted, an indepen- 
dent political existence, and through their agency contri- 
bute to work out the redemption of their whole race, it 
supplies to the honor and Christianity of the master the 
most powerful motives for the act. 

" And, finally, it has secured the voluntary manumis- 
sion of slaves (about two thousand,) in value (viewed as 
property,) nearly, if not quite, equal to the whole 
amount of funds given for the establishment of Liberia ; 
while its influence to prepare for future emancipations it 
were diflicult to estimate. 

" This plan of African colonization seeks for the free 
people of color, for those that may become free, and 
through them for their race, a good far higher than mere 
emancipation. 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 169 

" He must be ignorant of the social and political con- 
dition of the United States, who imagines that emancipa- 
tion to the slaves there, if it could be effected, and they 
remain on the soil, would prove for some centuries, at 
least, if a benefit, more than a very limited and imper- 
fect one. But the scheme which we advocate, opens to 
them the treasures of the best ordered and most favored 
existence, the means of thoroughly developing and com- 
bining their energies — of ascending, not individually, but 
as a people, to wealth, and fame, and power — of culti- 
vating every field and advancing in every path of national 
improvement, and beneficence, and glory. What other 
plan spreads out before them so fruitful and inviting an 
inheritance, or reveals in the distant horizon such bright 
and shining lights ? 

" That this plan embraces more points in which the 
friends of the African race agree, and fewer in which 
they difier than any other, must be regarded in its favor; 
for though general opinion, that a scheme is right, does 
not necessarily make it so, such opinion cannot be disre- 
garded, but must always enter into the calculations of a 
wise man. And as the effects of most' schemes depend 
very much upon the manner of their execution, one 
which for its success demands the united exertions of 
communities or nations, may offer valid reasons for its 
support in the fact, that the general verdict of opinion 
may probably be pronounced in its favor. Indeed, a plan 
theoretically the best, if certain to be condemned, retarded, 
opposed, may be less deserving support than an inferior 
one generally approved, and which can be wisely and 
energetically executed. 

" Two plans of general policy on this subject divide 
the friends of the colored race in England and America. 
15 



170 MISSION. 

The one is sustained by those who, turning from all the 
wrongs and miseries of Africa, direct their efforts mainly, 
if not solely, to the emancipation of all slaves in Chris- 
tian countries, by sounding out the doctrine of immediate 
abolition as a duty to be instantly performed by masters 
in recognition of the inherent right of the slave, — the 
other by the African Civilization Society, and by those 
who, by founding free states of voluntary colored emi- 
grants in Africa, look for emancipation and the elevation 
of her children to the success and moral influence of this 
experiment. That the colonization scheme avoids those 
collisions and angry controversies inevitably connected 
with the scheme of Abolition is certain ; and that the ele- 
ments of most efficient and extensive union are with the 
colonizationists and not with abolitionists, I hold to be 
equally clear. That the two schemes do not necessarily 
conflict ; that the same persop may, without inconsis- 
|tency, advocate both, I admit ; yet a union at present of 
the citizens of the southern states of the American Con- 
federacy with the philanthropists of other states or coun- 
tries, for the benefit of the people of color, on any other 
than the colonization plan, is not to be expected. This 
fact will prevent most of the citizens of the non-slave- 
holding states from entering into associations of their 
own, or combining their efforts with foreign associations, 
on the abolition plan. They know that nothing can be 
wisely, humanely, or effectually done for the abolition of 
slavery, but with the will and consent of the masters, 
and that they are bound in good faith, and by the consti- 
tution of the country, to forbear all attempts to control 
or disturb the peculiar institutions of the south. They 
desire the liberty of the slave, but love honor, fidelity, 
and that union, in the stability of which is involved the 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 171 

cause of republican freedom, as well as the best hopes 
of the slave, more. Seven-tenths at least, of the white 
population of the United States, I believe to be coloniza- 
tionists : not because (in so far as the people of the non- 
slave-holding states are concerned,) of opposition to 
emancipation, with permission to the liberated to remain 
upon the soil, should this be approved by the south, but 
that, not being at present thus approved, they will not 
usurp the right of intervention in the case ; and because, 
convinced that the colonization plan has great and com- 
prehensive merit, that in no other will the south concur ; 
and that if this plan be not a remedy for slavery, it is 
preparing the way for such remed}^ 

" I will not question the honesty and benevolence of 
the great body of English and American abolitionists, yet 
I regard many of their writings and proceedings as unjust 
to the people of the United States, particularly to the 
slave-holders, and pernicious in all their tendencies. Nc^ 
one can more desire than the writer to see modification 
and amendment of the legal codes of the slave-holding 
states in favor of the slaves. Atrocious crimes and cru- 
elties are doubtless occasionally committed, in those 
states, on the persons of slaves. In what country are 
not oppression, cruelty, and crime found to exist? Have 
they no existence in England ? Generally, (and I speak 
from personal observation and inquiry in nearly all the 
southern states of the American republic,) the citizens of 
those states are kind, humane, generous, and, in a pro- 
portion to the whole population, equal to that found 
in most parts of Christendom — devout and exemplary 
Christians. No better friends have the slaves in any 
part of the world than are to be found in those states. 
Cases of harsh treatment, of severe punishment, of wan- 



]72 MISSION. 

ton disregard of their feelings, of the voluntary and cruel 
rupture of their domestic ties, of withholding from them 
the necessaries of life, or denying to them opportunities 
to hear Christian instruction and worship God, are not 
common — they are exceptions, not the rule. Liabilities 
to evil in the system of slavery are great ; trying separa- 
tions and wrongs among slaves are frequent ; yet many 
laws which darken the statute books of the slave-holding 
states, are in practice nearly, if not quite, obsolete ; and 
humanity and religion are exerting a mighty and increas- 
ing influence for the protection and good of this depen- 
dent people. 

" Many, very many, masters and slaves are bound to- 
gether by the ties of mutual confidence and affection. A 
large proportion of the slaves exhibit an aspect of com- 
fort, contentment, and cheerfulness. There is much to 
regret, much to condemn, fearful evils which are perhaps 
never brought to light, in the system of slavery, yet all 
things (the very heavens themselves as some would re- 
present,) are not wrapt in gloom. It is not to diminish 
the general sense of the injustice as well as impolicy of 
slavery, viewed as a permanent system, that I thus write, 
nor that I would lessen the moral powers that are work- 
ing for its abolition, but, in reference to truth, and because 
he is blind who sees not that injustice to the master is 
injury and a crime against the slave. He who bears false 
witness against me, and seeks to destroy my reputation, 
must not expect to be my counsellor. If the abolition- 
ists of New England and of Old England have no influ- 
ence among American slave-holders, and little with the 
citizens generally of the United States, to their errors in 
principle, and more to their faults and offences in prac- 
tice, must they trace the cause. If their errors and faults 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 173 

originate in ignorance, they might be pardoned, and may 
be corrected ; but while persisted in, they sunder all 
bonds of respect and moral union between their authors 
and the citizens of the southern states of America, and 
indeed of a great majority of the Americans. They tend 
to produce between England and America hostile senti- 
ments, perhaps actual war. Indeed, having excluded 
themselves utterly from the confidence of those upon 
whom, under Providence, depend the hopes and destiny 
of the slave population, some of their number, in the 
ardor of their ill-regulated enthusiasm and the darkness 
of their perverted understandings, are ready to stake upon 
war, the success of their cause. But the idea that Eng- 
land should make war upon America to abolish slavery, 
is so unmerciful towards the slaves, as well as preposte- 
rous and atrocious in every respect, that I doubt not it 
will be reprobated by the general reason and humanity 
of the English nation. As I wish to show that the prin- 
ciples of extensive and efficient union for the benefit of 
the African race are with the colonizationists and not with 
the abolitionists, I deem it pertinent to quote two or three 
passages from recent abolition publications in England, 
containing sentiments which, if their folly did not equal 
their wickedness, would be alarming to the true friends 
of the slaves and of peace. 

"On the 14th of September last, Mr. Remond, a man 
of color, from the United States, addressed a public meet- 
ing of the Glasgow Anti-slavery Society, in the Rev. Dr, 
Heugh's church, and among other things said — 

" ' Such was the state of things on the opposite side of 

the Atlantic ; and now he would put the question, what 

were the friends of anti-slavery in Britain to do for the 

abolition cause. A reference was, in the letter he had 

51* 



174 MISSlOiN-. 

read, made to the north-east boundary question. After 
referring to the ardent desire for war with England, mani- 
fested by the State of Maine, about a few acres of land, 
and their inconsistency in refusing to give liberty to the 
slave, Mr. Remond proceeded to show that a war with 
England would inevitably lead to the emancipation of 
the slaves. He believed that England held tlie means in 
her own hands in relation to the system of slavery, and 
he trusted she would not shrink from the contest; for, 
dearly as he loved his country, and to dw^ell upon the 
associations which he had experienced there, he felt that 
emancipation from any other quarter was not to be hoped 
for — and God grant that it might arrive early. The 
American nation, he observed, had every thing to lose by 
a contest with England. This sentiment, he knew, might 
cost him his head ; he knew he would be in danger, the 
moment he stepped on his native shore, for having given 
expression to such viev/s as these, but he cared not ; it 
would at least be known that one colored American had 
dared to speak freely and boldly on this subject. (Cheers.) 
He would not give up the privilege and the prerogative 
of speaking out, as a free man, while the breath was in 
his body. * * ^ * * l^^ there be 

war between England and America, and the shackles 
which now held so many in bondage in his country 
would be broken to-morrow.' 

"The Rev. Mr. Keep, from the Oberlin Institution, 
United States, attempted to apologise to the audience for 
the warmth of his friend, Mr. Remond, who is subse^ 
quently reported to have said — 

" ' He would not have any one suppose that he would 
return to his country with the view of inciting the slave 
to insurrection against his master. He did not think it 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 175 

would be necessary ; for he believed the slave would be 
freed only by the progress of peaceful truth. He only 
spoke what were his own sentiments in relation to him- 
self; and he did not wish to soften down the sentiment 
in the least. * * * * # 

" I leave it to those who can better reconcile differ- 
ences than myself, to show Mr. Remond's consistency 
in urging a war as affording the only hope for emancipa- 
tion, and then avowing a belief that the slave would be 
freed only by the progress of Christian truth. 

" The editor of a newspaper (published, if we mistake 
not, at Ipswich,) gives the following paragraph evincing 
ignorance, and marked by sentiments better suited to the 
inmate of a lunatic hospital, than to one standing forth 
as adviser of a humane, wise, and puissant nation. 

" ' We are afraid there is a wish on the part of the 
thousands in America, who are implicated in the slave 
traffic, to provoke hostilities with England, in order to 
divert attention from the abolition question, and get rid 
of the present agitation created by the laudable perse- 
verance of philanthropists in both countries. If war be 
inevitable, our heart's desire is, that it may lead to the 
annihilation of American slavery. The horrors of the 
slave system, as pursued in the southern States, are un- 
utterable ; nothing that the wildest imagination can con- 
ceive, surpasses the cruelties inflicted on the wretched 
negro victims ; and if it were in our power to stir up the 
spirit of the slaves to rebel against the heartless planters, 
and by one effort shake off their fetters, we would use 
that power, though all America were thrown into dis- 
order, and presented one wide field of bankruptcy and 
ruin. If the sword of Great Britain should be un- 



176 MISSION. 

sheathed, let her not draw back her hand until she has 
secured the freedom of the slave. * * * 

" i We would that America had listened to the voice 
of reason and mild remonstrance from the British shores, 
and suppressed the lingering abomination amidst the 
acclaiming cheers of humanity; but she persists in the 
unholy traffic — she welcomes to her shores the infernal 
slave ship, filled with bales of human merchandize — 
she still promotes the detestable system of slave-breeding 
in her Slates — she heeds not the groans and tears which 
fill her land, the boasted land of freedom, equality, and 
civilization. 

'''The horizon is dark and troubled — we know not 
where war with America will end — her curse is of 
slavery; of all the dangers that threaten her, that of 
slavery is the greatest — she is wedded to the evil, and to 
utter the word abolition, in the southern Slates, would be 
to defy death. What is the duty of England, is a seri- 
ous inquiry. We wish for nothing but moral influence ; 
but if there must be physical conflict, let not the Aboli- 
tionists, even in war, be diverted from their course, but 
strive more energetically to merge all dissensions and 
distinctions in the overwhelming unity of demand— 
annihilate slavery in America.'^ 

" In the number of Frazerh Magazine for the present 
month, (April,) appears an article entitled, 'War with 
America a blessing to mankind.' While calculated 
(we fear designed,) to stir the passions of the unthink- 
ing, to well informed and virtuous minds, the falsehood 
of its statements and its detestable sentiments, carry with 
them their antidote. While this sage writer sees no hope 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTOX. 177 

of success in any war with America which should fail 
to arouse the slaves to general insurrection, in the ex- 
citement of these people to a murderous contest for 
liberty, he discerns the means of a short and easy con- 
clusion of the struggle : ' A conclusion in every way 
honorable and advantageous to England, and in the high- 
est degree desirable to the whole human race.' 

"'America, (he says) in one respect, is the most sinful 
nation in the world ; and in her sin, as Divine and retri- 
butive justice ordinarily provides, she finds her weakness 
and her punishment. She holds nearly three millions of 
unoffending human creatures in the most cruel bondage ; 
in a thraldom infinitely worse than Egyptian, Turkish, or 
Sclavonian. In fact, we doubt if the annals of the human 
race afford an example of any system of oppression at 
all approaching to that which is proved, on the clearest, 
fullest, and most irrefragable evidence, to exist in a coun- 
try which vaunts itself to be the freest nation on the face 
of the earth.' 

"After quoting evidence concerning the atrocities of 
American slavery, from a v/ork entitled ' Slavery and the 
Internal Slave Trade in the United States^^ by the Exe- 
cutive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society, a 
work as fairly and justly representing American slavery 
and the American character, as the records of the London 
police offices, the trials at the Old Bailey, or the JYezvgate 
Calender^ would the character of the English people, and 
introducing the shocking details of two cases, in which 
colored men, murderers, had been burnt by mobs, with 
the remark, ' We will adduce only a sample or two of 
what seems a common practice in the slave states of 
America,' he adds : — 

" ' Such, then, is the sin and weakness of Am.erica. It 



178 MissioiN. 

may be a doubtful point, how far another nation would 
be justified, in a time of peace, in embarking in a crusade 
of philanthropy, and endeavoring to force an independent 
people into the relinquishment of a national sin. But 
what possible doubt can exist as to the propriety, the 
expediency — nay, the absolute duty, of making a war 
subservient to the great and pre-eminent object of freeing 
these three millions of cruelly oppressed human beings ? 

"'Policy, too, not less than philanthropy, prescribes 
such a course of warfare. By this mode, and this only, 
a war with America might be brought to a speedy and 
inevitably triumphant close. As we have already ob- 
served, a struggle between the people of England and 
their descendants in America, must be a fearful, a pro- 
tracted, and a lamentable one. But if assailed in this 
quarter, a vital point is instantly and surely reached — 
the Union is dissolved, and the war is at an end. 

" ' Among the tliree millions of slaves, we may fairly 
calculate the adult males at nearly one million. Every 
man of all this multitude w^ould eagerly rush to embrace 
an emancipating invader, and within a few days' sail of 
the coast, repose the free and happy blacks of Jamaica. 
In one morning a force of ten thousand men might be 
raised in this quarter, for the enfranchisement of their 
brethren in America. * * * * 

" ' We say, that this course is dictated alike by policy, 
by self-preservation, and by philanthropy. By policy — 
for nothing would render our own possessions so secure 
as a dissolution of the Union — an inevitable result of 
this line of action. By self-preservation — for England 
must not venture to involve herself in a protracted con- 
test in a distant quarter of the globe. By philanthropy 
— which tells us that if, contrary to our own inclina- 



li^STTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 179 

lions, we are dragged into this unnatural war, it is our 
duty at least to endeavor to bring good out of evil. In 
whatever way, then, we contemplate the subject, we 
come to this conclusion: 

" ' If we must have a war with America, let us make it 
a war for the emancipation of the slaves ; so shall our 
success be certain, and our triumph the triumph of hu- 
manity.' 

"Some indignation we might feel at these remarks, 
were they not absolutely ludicrous, and the parting coun- 
sels to the English Government to take possession of 
Cuba, such as might produce smiles rather than anger in 
the United States. 

" ' Now,' he observes, ' England could, if she chose, 
very speedily put an end to slavery. 

"'The three great markets for slaves — to supply 
which the trade is kept up — are the United States, Brazil, 
and Cuba. The first of these, we feel persuaded, will 
be broken up whenever a war breaks out; and even 
without a war, the system would lead to some dreadful 
internal convulsion before long. But the last of these, 
Cuba, is open to our approaches even at this moment. 

" ' Cuba belongs to the crown of Spain. But what is 
the crown of Spain? — a shadow. 

" ' It is abundantly obvious that England could add 
Cuba to her colonies to-morrow, if she chose to do so. 
But could she do so with justice and honor ? Most un- 
questionably she might. Has not England expended 
upon Spain, within the last twenty years, many millions 
of sterling money,' &c. 

" From works more grave, such as the British Critic^ 
the Eclectic Revietv^ and the Congregational Magazine^ 
the pages of which are enriched by the thoughts of sober 



180 MISSION. 

and charitable divines, recent passages might be cited 
showing that even enlightened minds in England are 
misinformed or misled on the subject of American slave- 
ry, and the Colonization Society. They consider •• Ame- 
rican slavery as it is,' and the work on ' Slavery and the 
internal slave trade in the United States^'' as giving a just 
general view of that slavery, whereas a detail of crime 
connected with the manufacturing, or poor-law systems 
of England, would give as just a view of those systems. 
I have no wish to recriminate. But a remedy for our 
censoriousness towards the faults of others may often be 
found in reflection upon our own ; and Divine wisdom 
instructs us that to condemn the sms of others is no 
virtue, while guilty ourselves of doing the same things. 
Besides, he who is ignorant of the sentiments of others 
towards him, or disregards them, will find that purity of 
motive does not always give him influence, and that his 
good intentions will find the door closed, unless humility, 
discretion, and charity, have first opened it. Let, then, 
the pious and philanthropic of England, her learned and 
venerable clergy, imagine with what sentiments they 
would peruse, in an American magazine, or review, the 
following article, and they will understand the impres- 
sions which the passages we have quoted will make 
upon the American people. 

"'a war with ENGLAND A BLESSING TO MANKIND. 

" ' The arrogance, pride, and selfishness of the English 
nation are insufierable. We are no friends to war, but 
are not sure that a declaration of hostilities against this 
haughty and oppressive power, is not a duty to ourselves 
and to mankind. With high professions of respect to 
justice and the rights of man, England has for centuries 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 181 

continued to violate both to an incredible extent, and 
without remorse. Think of her conduct towards this 
country. Compare it with our own towards her (the 
best English statesmen themselves being judges,) in the 
great contest of the revolution. 

"'The Earl of Chatham said — 'Your ministers have 
gone to Germany, they have sought the alliance and 
assistance of every pitiful, beggarly, insignificant, petty 
prince, to cut the throats of their legal, brave, and injured 
brethren in America. They have entered into mercenary 
treaties. They have let the savages of America loose 
upon their unoflending brethren ; loose upon the weak, 
the aged, and defenceless ; on old men, women, and 
children ; on the very babes upon the breast ; to be cut, 
mangled, sacrificed, boiled, roasted, nay, to be literally 
eaten. These, my Lords, are the allies Great Britain nov/ 
has. Carnage, desolation, and destruction wherever her 
arms are carried, is her newly adopted mode of making 
war. Our ministers have made alliances at the German 
shambles ; and with the barbarians of America, with the 
merciless torturers of their species. Where they will 
next apply, I cannot tell. Was it by letting loose the 
savages of America, to imbrue their hands in the blood 
of our enemies, that the duties of the soldier, the citizen, 
and the man, came to be united. Is this honorable war- 
fare, my Lords ? Does it correspond with the language 
of the poet ? ' The pride, pomp, circumstance, of glori- 
ous war, that makes ambition virtue.' 

"'The Duke of Richmond said — ' But, my Lords, I 

wish to turn your eyes to another part of this business. 

T mean the dreadful inhumanities with which this war is 

carried on ; shocking beyond description to every feeling 

16 



182 MISSION. 

of a Christian, or of a man. If ever a nation shall de- 
serve to draw down on her the Divine vengeance of her 
sins, it will be this, if she suffers such horrid war to con- 
tinue. To me, who think w^e have been originally in the 
wrong, it appears doubly unpardonable ; but even sup- 
posing we were right, it is certainly we who produce the 
war ; and I do not think any consideration of dominion 
or empire sufficient to warrant the sacrifices we make to 
it. To arm negro slaves against their masters, to arm 
savages who we know will put their prisoners to death 
in the most cruel tortures, and literally eat them, is not, 
in my opinion, a fair war against fellow-subjects.' 

" ' Col. Barre said — ' The Americans have been brand- 
ed in this house with every opprobrious epithet that 
meanness could invent — termed cowardly and inhuman. 
Let us mark the proof. They have obliged as brave a 
General as ever commanded a body of British troops, to 
surrender — such is their cowardice. And instead of 
throwing chains upon these troops, they have nobly given 
them their freedom — such is their inhumanity.' 

"'Mr. Burke observed — 'The Americans had been 
always represented as cowards ; this was far from being 
true ; and he appealed to the conduct of Arnold and 
Gates, towards General Burgoyne, as a striking proof of 
their bravery. Our army was totally at their mercy. 
We had employed the savages to butcher them, their 
wives, their aged parents, and their children ; and yet, 
generous to the last degree, they gave our men leave to 
depart on their parole, never more to bear arms against 
North America. Bravery and cowardice could never 
inhabit the same bosom ; generosity, valor, and humani- 
ty, are ever inseparable. Poor, indeed, the Americans 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 183 

were, but in this consists their greatest strength. Sixty- 
thousand men had fallen at the feet of their voluntary 
poverty.' 

"'And what has since been her conduct.'' Having 
driven us into a war in defence of our maratime rights, 
which we nobly vindicated on that ocean that she vainly 
imagined was her own, she has recently again violated 
those rights in the African seas, as though she only sought 
to overthrow the slave-trade, and to monopolize all credit 
in abolishing it, might violate the law of nations. Has 
she not, in time of peace, and on our own soil, burnt our 
property and murdered our citizens .? Witness the affair 
of the Caroline. Not content with denouncing us as 
infamous before the world for an evil which, from mere 
mercenary motives, she forced upon us, in the days of 
our weakness and her tyrannous control, her ecclesiasti- 
cal bodies would exclude, on account of this evil, from 
Christian fellov/ship, nearly one half the churches of this 
Union, and as if growing more hardened in iniquity, she 
dares to speak not of a magnanimous and open war, but 
(unparalleled atrocity ! ) of exciting our slaves to insur- 
rection — of lighting the flames of servile war throughout 
all the southern states of this confederacy. And who 
are those that, with more than savage ferocity, would 
introduce amongst us all the horrors which, a few years 
ago, darkened the heavens, and made red with the blood 
of indiscriminate massacre, the fields of St. Domingo .? 
Our enlightened. Christian, English brethren ! ! A people 
w^ho boast of the treasures of their wisdom and the purity 
of their faith ; who are justly proud of the immortal 
names of Shakspeare and Milton, of Bacon and Burke, 
of Han way and Howard and Wilberforce. But has Eng- 
land no sins to answer for, that she should take the work 



184 MissiOiV. 

of retribution into her hands, and inflict the Divine ven- 
geance upon our guilty heads ? What nation was it, that 
through several of its successive monarchs, two centuries 
ago, called for subscriptions to joint-stock companies for 
the prosecution of the slave trade in order to supply la- 
borers to her American plantations ? What nation, that 
in 1713, formed a treaty with Spain, which, in the words 
of Lord Brougham, ' the execrations of ages have left in- 
adequately censured,' by which it was stipulated that she 
should introduce 4,800 negroes into his Catholic Majes- 
ty's dominions, for the space of thirty years successively ? 
What nation that, for a long period, employed from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred ships in the slave trade, 
and carried off on the average forty thousand negroes 
annually; at times, one half more, and which is stated 
by Anderson, in his History of Trade and Commerce.) 
about 1753, to have supplied her American colonies with 
negro slaves, amounting in number to above one hundred 
thousand every year ? It is the nation of which Mr. 
Pitt said, ' The truth is, there is no nation in Europe 
which has plunged so deeply into this guilt as Britain. 
We stopped the natural- progress of civilization in Africa. 
We cut her off from the opportunity of improvement. 
We kept her down in a state of darkness, bondage, igno- 
rance, and bloodshed. We have thus subverted the whole 
order of nature ; we have aggravated every natural bar- 
barity, and funished to every man motives for commit- 
ting, under the slave trade, acts of perpetual hostility 
against his neighbor. Thus had the perverson of British 
commerce carried misery instead of happiness to one 
whole quarter of the globe.' 

'•'And has England, by extraordinary acts of merit, so 
atoned for these enormous wrongs, so cleansed her gar- 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 185 

meiits from the blood of Africa, as to be entitled to carry 
revolution into foreign states ? Even in her boasted act 
of West Indian emancipation, she violated (as Granville 
Sharp, the venerated father of abolition in England, would 
have said,) the rights of her own subjects in denying 
them a representation in her national legislature. Her 
liberality of compensation we admit. But by what au- 
thority of justice, while conferring personal freedom on 
one people, does she hold in political servitude another. 
She treated with contempt the remonstrances and peti- 
tions of her American colonies against the slave trade, 
and now she presumes to dictate to these colonies, risen 
to independent States, where and how they shall abolish 
slavery on pain of her high displeasure. 

" ' And has she no evils at home to remedy, that she 
must cross the ocean to excite civil and servile war in 
America ? Let her look to India, to South Africa, to 
every remote province of her empire, and see the foot- 
prints of desolation, or the signals of dismay or sorrow 
wherever she has conquered. Whole tribes and nations 
have wasted away before her — while more than a hun- 
dred millions bow their necks to her arbitrary and iron 
will. What is the condition of Ireland } More than 
2,000,000 of her people in rags and wretchedness, and 
compelled to solicit charity for at least half the year. 
And what is done to give religious instruction to three 
millions, speaking only the Irish language } And what 
political rights has Ireland .? Out of three counties, con- 
taining more than 1,000,000 of inhabitants, there are a 
little more than 4,000 voters. Little better is the condi- 
tion of things in England. Ground to the dust by taxa- 
tion, to support a Government the most lavish for 
expenditure in the world, no provision is made for gene- 
16* 



185 MISSION. 

ral education, and thousands are transported annually for 
crimes of which ignorance may be regarded as the 
parent. An overgrown aristocracy, vast wealth, and 
boundless luxury, are hare seen in contrast with igno- 
rance, misery, and starvation. Talk of American slavery, 
while in one city of Great Britain, and that not the 
largest, 16,000 persons are found seeking food and shel- 
ter in a single year ; while typhus fever, produced by 
destitution, is never absent, and when an able ph3^si- 
cian, writing of Limerick, says, (in reference to the 
houses in the worst part of the old town,) 'I myself 
have known several of those houses occupied by eight, 
nine, eleven, thirteen, and 1 have heard that some of 
them are occupied by sixteen families. I have seen three 
families living together in a room scarcely seven feet 
square! It would, indeed, be a most interesting subject 
for investigation, and one which I am sure would tend 
to great practical good, an inquiry into the condition of 
these poor strugglers — the number to each house — the 
rents they pay — their mode of obtaining a livelihood, 
and. other particulaKS regarding them ; but J fear I should 
not be able to devote sufficient time to it. Here, amid 
broken bannisters, falling staircases, sinking floors, and 
shattered roofs that admit every blast, may be witnessed 
every variety of privation, misery, and suffering in all its 
horror, which it is possible for the human mind to con- 
template, I have read all that has been written on the 
condition of the poor in Scotland and other places, and 
in nothing they describe do they exceed what is exhibit- 
ed in Limerick. I have seen a wretched mother lying 
sick on a mat, in the corner of a garret, lier only cover- 
ing a few rags — without a drop to wet her lips for three 
days, but cold water ; her husband dead, and three little 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 187 

children on the floor, who were frequently eight and 
forty hours without tasting a morsel of food. But this 
last is by no means an uncommon occurrence among 
them, and sometimes the interval passed without food is 
much longer. I have seen children not otherwise un- 
healthy, fall into a dropsical state, and die from the abso- 
lute debility produced by repeated abstinence. I have 
known a wretched young creature, a widow, without 
clothing, food, or fire, when every rag was pledged, 
place her dying infant between her lower limbs in its last 
moments, in a position which is not easy to describe, in 
order to keep some warmth in it while it was expiring.' 
Thrice happy are slaves, so far as physical comfort is 
concerned, in America, compared with the thousands 
perishing for ^vant in this kingdom. And then her man- 
ufactories. But more than enough — her people are be- 
ginning to open their eyes — the ' hereditary bondmen of 
Ireland,' as Mr. O'Connell has it, will not always be 
slaves. Her old, rotten institutions must give way — the 
sooner they are in the dust the better. Let us, for the 
sake of Ireland and India, for freedom and humanity, 
declare war, and millions will clap their hands. At all 
events, England should know that an attempt on her part 
to rouse the slaves to msurrection, will unite every Ame- 
rican against her, nor will they rest until the Canadas 
shall be released from their chains, and not an English- 
man left on the shores of the new world. The pride of 
England must be humbled. Our voice, then, is for war, 
and we conclude, as Ave began, ' a war with England a 
blessing to mankind.' ' 

" If an Englishman turns from this article v/itli abhor- 
rence or disdain, let him consider that the language I 
have quoted from recent publications in this country, 



188 MISSION. 

more malignant, and certainly not more just, must excite 
similar sentiments in the American mind. And is it by 
such publications that England and America are to be 
united in works of piety and philanthropy ? Will mu- 
tual attacks upon character, the application to each other 
of undeserved censures and cruel reproaches, bind us 
more in amity together ? By concealing each other's 
virtues, and exaggerating and gladly holding up in the 
face of Heaven each other's faults, shall we become 
wiser and better, and show more impressively to the 
world the meekness and power of Christian love ? 

" Suppose a society established in the United States, for 
the avowed purpose of effecting a revoliition in England 
by inflaming the passions of her laboring classes, insisting 
upon their right to share equally with the nobilit}^ in the 
goveinment of the empire ; that the lands ought to be 
their own, which they have so long cultivated for very 
inadequate rewards ; putting arms into the hands of her 
Chartist population, and maintaining that it was utterly 
repugnant to the democratic spirit of Christianity, that 
thousands should pine in workhouses, or starve out of 
them, while others, no better than they, dwell in palaces 
and drink wine out of bowls ; and that a throne, based upon 
the miseries of the people, should be overturned by their 
hands ; suppose they should collect all reports of crime 
and suffering, throw the responsibility for their existence 
upon those in power, and pronounce all authority in Eng- 
land null and void before God : would the good and wise 
in this country have patience with such a Society, wel- 
come to their shore its agents, or distribute its publica- 
tions ? I suspect such interference in the national con- 
cerns of England by the people of a foreign state, would 
be likely to add new tenants to the prisons, or send out 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 189 

additional companies of disconsolate, if not chained cap- 
tives, to till the soil of her Majesty's Australian dominions. 

" I shall not argue the point whether such a society in 
America, would furnish an exact parallel to "the Abolition 
Society of England, for my object is but to say, that the 
movements of the latter, so far as directed to excite the 
slave population to insurrection, or in any way to coerce 
emancipation, are regarded, universally, in America, with 
detestation and horror. And here, I may be permitted to 
correct some of the errors in the quotations I have cited 
from recent English publications, and which I fear may 
have been adopted too extensively in England concerning 
American slavery and the American Union. 

" First. The idea propagated by the Times, as well as 
various other papers, that the consequence of war would 
be a speedy dissolution of the American Union is wholly 
false — on the contrary, nothing could strengthen the 
American Union like war with a foreign power. The 
bonds uniting the several states of that union can be 
relaxed and broken only (if at all) by internal dissensions 
in days of peace. 

" Second. To represent the citizens of the southern 
states of America as generally guilty of rigorous, inhu- 
man conduct towards their slaves, is an outrage upon 
truth as well as charity. If my testimony, derived from 
extensive personal observation, be called in question, I 
appeal to the venerable bishops of the Episcopal Church, 
in those states, to confirm it, and desire those who would 
try the question to seek their testimony on the subject. 
Much oppression doubtless exists, but a concern for the 
physical comfort, religious instruction, and ultimate free- 
dom of the slave population is increasing, and will con- 
tinue I trust, more and more, to increase. 

" Third. Neither fanaticism nor mistaken philanthropy 



190 MISSION. 

may gratify itself with the idea, that the slave population 
of America are one and all ready to fly to arms against 
their masters, at the bidding of a foreign foe. Not a few- 
have too much sense to do this, not a few too much piety, 
and a large proportion, probably, would prefer the protec- 
tion of humane masters whom they know, to a foreign 
soldiery if such could be landed (which it could not be,) 
of which they know nothing. 

" Fourth. The idea of securing freedom to the slaves, 
by urging them to insurrection, and aiding them in the 
work, is a dream of his folly, or insanity, who might 
smile at the conflagration of cities, or the destruction of 
nations. Cruel to all classes in America, especially to 
the slaves, should it once rouse them to action, unima- 
ginable evils must be brought upon society, probably utter 
ruin upon themselves. All this is clear to those who can 
think, and for others I do not write. Fidelity and good 
conduct on the part of slaves, will prove their best pass- 
port to liberty ; and far Aviser is it for them to rely upon 
the justice and kindness of their own masters, under the 
growing influences of Christianity, than upon the inter- 
ference of foreign philanthropists. 

"And here, I conclude what I have to say on the 
errors connected with this subject, by the remark, that 
the various compound poisons, as Coleridge terms them, 
circulated to excite discontent in the humbler classes, who 
receive but a small share of the fruits of society, appear 
to me, to have been in great demand among the Anti- 
Slavery Societies both of England and America. 

" ' First. Bold, warm, and earnest assertions, it matters 
not whether supported by facts or not ; nay, though they 
should involve absurdities and demonstrable impossi- 
bilities. 

^' ' Second. Startling particular facts, which, dissevered 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 191 

from their context, enable a man to convey falsehood 
while he says truth. 

''' ' Third. Arguments built on passing events, and 
deriving an undue importance from the feelings of the 
moment. 

" ' Fourth. The display of the defects, without the ac- 
companying advantages, or vice versa. 

" ' Fifth. Concealment of the general ultimate result 
behind the scenery of local and particular consequences. 

"'Sixth. Statement of positions that are tiue, under 
particular conditions, to men whose ignorance or fury 
make them forget that these conditions are not present, 
or lead them to take for granted that they are. 

" ' Seventh. Chains of questions, especially such ques- 
tions as the persons best authorized to propose, are ever 
the slowest in proposing; and objections intelligible of 
themselves, the answers to which require the comprehen- 
sion of a system. 

" ' Eighth. Vague and common place satire,' &c. 

" I am aware that the exhibition of particular errors, 
and the correction of them, is not absolutely necessary 
to my argument, though I trust not impertinent to the 
general object of this letter. I have sought to show that 
the elements of a general union are with the friends of 
African civilization and colonization, and not with the 
Abolitionists. These elements may respect the instru- 
mentalities, and the particular end. Agreeing mainly in 
both, the former (the friends of civilization and coloni- 
zation,) may expect to unite to them the mind and energy 
of the people of the southern States of America, a 
matter vitally important to the interests and hopes of the 
slaves, to any extensive union of their friends in that 
country, and of highest consequence to the civilization 



192 MISSION. 

of Africa. Agreeing already in the field for their opera- 
tions, in the agents to be employed, in many of the 
subordinate means to be used, in the great principles of 
Christian discretion to be adopted, and the grandeur of 
their design — the moral and intellectual elevation of an 
entire race of men — time and experience will, I trust, 
perfect their uiion — correct any irregularities, supply 
any defects in their policy, and show the embodied wis- 
dom and power of two great nations, harmoniously 
working for the civilization and salvation of Africa. 

" I have but alluded to the effects to be produced by 
the civilization of Africa upon the commerce of the 
world. To England, by opening a vast m^arket for the 
innumerable products of her manufacturing skill ; and 
to America, by creating large demands for the fruits of 
her agriculture, the benefit would be inestimable. 

" Gentlemen — to you, as justly possessed of the public 
confidence in your respective countries, and presiding, 
the one over the American Colonization Society, the 
other over the African Civilization Society, I venture to 
address this letter, in the hope, that the institutions you 
represent will gather around them the afiections and 
strength of England and America — that minor differ- 
ences of opinion will be merged in a common sensibility 
to the wrongs and miseries of the Africans — that these 
institutions, already agreeing in most things, may soon 
concur in all — that, mutually imparting to each other 
the results of their inquiries and experience, the pathway 
of both may become brighter with wisdom and benefi- 
cence — that liberty to the whole African race may 
follow in their footsteps — that among their blessings 
may arise a holy and inextinguishable spirit of amity 
between the Christian people of England and the United 



LETTER TO CLAY AND BUXTON. 193 

States ; that future ages may behold and admire, in the 
civilization of the most barbarous quarter of the world 
— the morally renovated character, the political elevation 
and independence of her now rude and enslaved sons — 
the efficacy of generous motives, supplied by philan- 
thropy, to produce self-discipline, to train and exalt de- 
pressed and darkened minds — and, finally, that they 
may discern light cast upon the mysteries of that Al- 
mighty Ruler who subverts or builds up empires, and 
extending his decrees through all space and eternity, 
often educes the fairest forms of a new creation, from 
the chaos of turbulent events, disordered passions, per- 
verse counsels, and untold calamity ; and while lifting 
their voices of praise to that God who left his chosen 
family for centuries under the oppressor's rod, that he 
might bring them forth, attended by art and civilization, 
from the magnificent cities of Egypt to their promised 
home, the anthems of a devout thanksgiving may break 
out from the habitations and temples of Africa, to aug- 
ment and surpass all other songs of earth before his 
throne ; and that the benignant Father of all men may 
rejoicingly cast his eye upon that land, made beautiful as 
the gardens of Solomon and the gates of Zion. 

" Well do I know that not a few ardent and judicious 
philanthropists condemn the recent policy of the African 
Civilization Society, and of the English Government, 
believing that the Niger expedition will secure no advan- 
tages to compensate for the large expenditure, and the 
probable, nay, almost certain loss of life. Possibly the 
funds applied to fit out and defray the expenses of this 
expedition, might have been more usefully employed in 
improving and extending settlements or colonies already 
founded in Africa. But I am not sure of this, and I have 
17 



194 MISSION. 

no disposition to find fault. Much valuable information 
will be acquired, I trust, also great and good results 
secured by this expedition. Whether it proceeds on the 
most economical plan, or with the best instructions, I am 
incompetent, being without information, to judge.* I wish 
it all possible success ; and I fervently pray, that the gene- 
rous conduct of the English Government, in this case, 
may be soon imitated by the Government of my own 
country. 

" In retiring from all public connection with a cause to 
which the best powers of my mind, and the best years 
of my life have been devoted, I have felt impelled, 1 trust 
by a deep sense of duty, to submit these thoughts to 
you, gentlemen, and to the friends of Africa, and her 
afflicted children, in England and the United States. If 
they contribute in the least to allay animosity, to pro- 
mote truth, justice, and charity; if in a single mind they 
awaken a more powerful sympathy for a people bound 
in chains, and trodden in the dust ; if to a single unfor- 
tunate man of color they reveal, even faintly, and in the 
distance, the star of hope for himself, and the ancient and 
once renowned mother-land of his progenitors, and rouse 
him to the high ambition of rebuilding her ruins, and 
restoring to her embrace her long-lost children ; if they 
impress upon the masters of slaves the great and univer- 
sal law of Christ, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self;' if, finally, (and would that I could hope so much,) 
they should incline American and English philanthropists 
to unity of opinion, to mutual and friendly co-operation 

* Many of the facts which are presented in the following pages, 
in regard to this expedition, had not appeared, or were unknown 
to me, when this letter was written. 



PROPOSED FORMATION OF A COMMITTEE. 195 

on the same plan, because the best plan for the civiliza- 
tion of Africa and the elevation of all her people, I shall 
not have lived in vain. 

" I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 

" Very respectfully, your friend, &.c., &c., 

"R. R. GURLEY. 
« ^pril 30, 1841." 

From the time that the most prominent members of the 
General Committee of the African Civilization Society 
evinced an indisposition to give a decided public appro- 
bation to the views and measures of the American Colo- 
nization Society, I had anxiously sought to secure an 
organization, which might aid, by discussions and expla- 
nations and the correction of erroneous impressions, to 
unite harmoniously these two kindred institutions. I 
was persuaded that a committee in London, appointed 
and empowered to represent to the people of Great Britain 
the real views of the friends of Africa in America, and 
who should embrace in their plans, as well the coloniza- 
tion as civilization of Africa, and reserve to themselves, 
the right of expending their funds, in such way^ and for 
such specific object, as might be judged most expedient 
for the relief and elevation of the Africans, would prove 
of benefit to the Civilization and Colonization Societies, 
to America and England, to the home population of Afri- 
ca, and her children in exile in many lands. I sought 
unremittingly to induce a few able friends to undertake 
the formation of such a committee. Jt seemed probable 
that, under the auspices of such a committee, access might 
be obtained to assemblies of the people, and the illusions 
of error be dissipated. Several meetings of conference 



196 MISSION. 

were held ; and, on one occasion, I prepared for conside- 
ration the following- preamble and resolutions : 

" Whereas^ it is a matter of great importance to unite 
the opinions and exertions of English and American phi- 
lanthropists in one and the same general policy for the 
relief of the African race, and the colonization and civi- 
lization of Africa: 

" Resolved^ That a pennanent committee be now ap- 
pointed, with full power to add to their number, to make 
their own bye-laws and regulations, and to adopt all such 
measures, and carry into effect all such plans, as they 
may judge best, to conciliate opinions and efforts between 
England and America on this subject, and to promote the 
best interests of the African race in all lands, and especi- 
ally the colonization and civilization of Africa. 

''Resolved^ That it be the duty of this committee, 
which shall be entitled the " General Committee for the 
relief of the African race and the colonization and civi- 
lization of Africa," to co-operate with all similar and 
kindred associations, and to apply its funds in such way, 
and through such channels as they may judge best for 
effecting their objects." 

Those who were prepared to approve the objects thus 
proposed, were disinclined to incur responsibilities with- 
out some fair prospect of success, and thought it wiser 
to trust to the progress of light among the members of 
the Civilization Society, than to attempt by a distinct 
organization to supply their defects ; and by producing 
changes in public sentiment, either compel them to modify 
their plans, or see diverted from them a portion of popu- 
lar favor. Their judgment in this case was regretted by 
the writer, who deemed it of high import, that the phi- 



AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY. 197 

ianthropy of England should know, that for the civiliza- 
tion of Africa, no means could be found so effective as 
that of founding free governments and Christian institu- 
tions through the agency of her own emancipated and 
instructed children. Nor would the cause of general 
humanity have been lightly benefitted by the removal 
from the English mind of those deplorable prejudices 
regarding the colored race in the United States, thickly 
sown by our countrymen, and which are seeds of evil, 
already growing into fierce antipathies, if not relentless 
hostility. 

That the Society, over which Sir T. F. Buxton pre- 
sides, for the " extinction of the slave trade, and the civi- 
lization of Africa," originated in benevolence, is conducted 
on Christian principles, and fraught with blessings ines- 
timable to Africa, I can entertain no doubt. From the 
most careful inquiries and examinations, my original 
opinion of its excellence has undergone no change, unless 
by confirmation. The Society embraces noblemen and 
gentlemen of all political opinions, of different religious 
sects, and from every part of the kingdom. In their 
prospectus, issued in February, 1840, they declare " It is 
the unanimous opinion of this Society, that the only 
complete cure of all these evils is the introduction of the 
Christian religion into Africa. They do not believe that 
any less powerful remedy will entirely extinguish the 
present inducements to trade in human beings, or will 
afford to the inhabitants of those extensive regions a sure 
foundation for repose and happiness. 

" But they are aware that a great variety of views may 

exist as to the manner in which religious instruction 

should be introduced ] distinctly avowing, therefore, that 

the substitution of our pure and holy faith for the false 

17* 



198 



MISSION, 



religion, idolatry, and superstitions of Africa, is, in their 
firm conviction the true ultimate remedy for the calami- 
ties that afflict her, they are most anxious to adopt every 
measure which may eventually lead to the establishment 
of Christianity throughout that continent ; and hoping to 
secure the co-operation of all, they proceed to declare 
that the grand object of their association is the extinction 
of the slave trade P"^ 

The plan of Sir T. F. Buxton, which is tiiat of the 
Civilization Society, embraces a wide range, and is of a 
very general character. It contemplates the aid of the 
English government, and of missionary, and other soci- 
eties. The committee early co-operated with Mr. Buxton 
in inducing her Majesty's government to send an expedi- 
tion to the Niger, " with the view of obtaining most accu- 
rate information as to the state of the countries bordering 
on its mighty waters." It is expected that the report of 
this expedition will open a vast region for benevolent and 
Christian enterprize, and that eflectu-al measures may then 
be adopted by the government, the Civilization Society, 
an African Agricultural Company, which it is proposed 
to establish, and by various humane and missionary asso- 
ciations. 

The operations of the " Society for the extinction of the 
slave trade and the civilization of Africa," will be direct- 
ed less to any one specific object, than by the collection 
and diifusion of information, the suggestion of plans, the 
encouragement of ail benevolent measures for the sup- 
pression of the traffic in slaves, and the elevation of the 
people of Africa, to stimulate the British nation to apply 
its powers and resources for the civilization of that con- 
tinent. 

It relies upon the government to strengthen and 



AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY. 199 

concentrate its naval force upon the African coast; to 
obtain possession of Fernando Po and other commanding 
positions, as stations for such force; to form treaties 
with the rulers of Africa for the abolition of the slave 
traffic, and to take upon itself the expense of protecting 
all settlements formed by the people of England, in Africa, 
for instructing her inhabitants in agriculture, commerce, 
the arts, letters, and religion. 

It looks to an Agricultural company to occupy suitable 
tracts of land, to be obtained by treaty from the natives, 
upon which colonization may be encouraged, and the 
cultivation of the most valuable products of the soil. 

It solicits the assistance of missionary societies to im- 
part Divine knowledge to barbarians, and raise their dark 
and perverted minds from superstition and sensuality to 
the service and love of the true God. 

It has assumed to itself the duty of aiding the outfit 
of the Niger expedition; of supplying it with men and 
means for scientific observations; for investigating the 
nature of the soil, climate, and productions of Africa; 
for collecting and preserving specimens in geology, mine- 
ralogy, and the various branches of natural history ; for 
examining the causes of disease, and the methods of 
prevention ; for obtaining drav/ings of remarkable scenes 
and objects ; for communicating to the natives seeds, 
implements of husbandry, and many improvements and 
useful arts ; and also of reporting the progress and results 
of this expedition ; finally, of making public all facts 
adapted to keep alive a horror of the slave trade, and co- 
operating in all endeavors to introduce and sustain teach- 
ers in morals, manners, and Christianity. 

In a very impressive and Christian manner, ?ias Sir T. 
F. Buxton expressed his views both of the difficulty and 
grandeur of the proposed enterprize. 



200 MISSION. 

«^ J am not," he observes, " so sanguine as to suppose 
that we can at once, by a single effort, solve the problem 
which lies before us. The deliverance of Africa will 
put our patience and perseverance to no ordinary trial. 
We must deliberately make up our minds to persevering 
labors, and to severe disappointments. I wish not in 
any degree to conceal from myself or from others, these 
truths. 

"But the question is, shall such an experiment be 
made ? There are two mighty arguments which should 
prompt us to such an undertaking : the intense miseries 
of Africa, and the peculiar blessings which have been 
showered upon this country by the mercy of Divine 
Providence. With regard to the first, I need not again 
plunge into the sickening details of the horrors whicli 
accompany this bloody trade, and of the sanguinary rites 
which there bear the name of religion. Whether we 
look to the vast space which is there made a theatre of 
public misery, or calculate how many deeds of cruelty 
and carnage must be perpetrated every day in the year, 
in order to make up the surprising total of human dis- 
tress, which, by indisputable documents, we know to be 
realized, there is enough to awaken the deepest pity, and 
to arouse the most energetic resolution. 

" Turning to the second consideration, we cannot fail 
to see how signally this nation has been preserved, and 
led forward to an extent of power and prosperity, beyond 
what almost any other nation has been permitted to 
reach. ' It is not to be doubted that this country has been 
invested with wealth and power, with arts and know- 
ledge, with the sway of distant lands and the mastery of 
the restless waters, for some great and important purpose 
in the Government of the world. Can we suppose other- 
wise than that it is our office to carry civilization and 



AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY. 201 

humanity, peace and good government, and above all, the 
knowledge of the true God to the uttermost end of the 
earth ?' "* 

After alluding to West Indian emancipation as in his 
judgment an act of great benefit to those raised by it from 
servitude. Sir T. F. Buxton eloquently adds : " A nobler 
achievement now invites us. I believe that Great Britain 
can, if she will, confer a blessing on the human race. It 
may be that at her bidding a thousand nations now steep- 
ed in wretchedness, in brutal ignorance, in devouring 
superstition, possessing but one trade, and that one the 
foulest evil that ever blighted public prosperity, or poison- 
ed domestic peace, shall, under British tuition, emerge 
from their debasement, enjoy a long line of blessings, 
education, agriculture, commerce, peace, industry, and 
the wealth that springs from it ; and, far above all, shall 
willingly receive that religion, which, while it confers 
innumerable temporal blessings, opens the way to an 
eternal futurity of happiness." 

As some who may look into this volume, may not 
have examined the work of Sir T. F. Buxton, nor be- 
come acquainted with the character and proceedings of 
the Society over which he presides, and as I desire to do 
justice to that Society, I venture here to insert the names 
of the provisional Committee, which alone would secure 
to the institution a large share of confidence and respect. 

THE PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE. 

Chairman — Thomas Fowell Buxton, Esq. 
Deputy Chairvien — The Right Hon. S. Lushington, D. C. L., 
M. P., and Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bart. M. R 
The Earl of Euston, M. P. Captain Cook. 

* The Rev. Mr. Wheweli's sermon, before the Trinity Board. 



202 



MISSION. 



The Earl of Cliichester. 
The Lord Charles Fitz Roy, M.P 
The Lord Ashley, M.P. 
The Lord Viscount Sandon, M.P 
The Lord Eliot, M. P. 
The Lord Worsley, M. P. 
The Lord Bishop of London. 
The Lord Calthorpe. 
The Lord Nugent. 
The Lord Teignraouth, M. P. 
The Lord Bexley. 
The Lord Seaford. 
The Lord WharnclifFe. 
The Hon. C. P. Villiers, M. P. 
The Hon. F. G. Calthorpe. 
The Hon. W. Cowper, M. P. 
The Right Hon. T. B. Macau- 
ley, M. P. 

Sir T. D. A eland, Bart., M. P. 

Sir Harry Verney, Bart , M. P. 

Sir George Stephen. 

Thos. Dyke Acland, Esq., M. P 

The Archdeacon Wilberforce. 

William Allen, Esq. 

Capt. Bird Allen, R. N. 

Capt. William Allen, R. N. 

George Babington, Esq. 

Edward Baines, Esq., M. P. 

J. J. Briscoe, Esq., M. P. 

Edward N. Buxton, Esq. 

Edmund Buxton, Esq. 

Robert Barclay, jun., Esq. 

Jos. Gurney Barclay, Esq. 

Arthur Kett Barclay, Esq. 

Joseph Beldam, Esq. 

John Bandinel, Esq, 

The Rev. Dr. Bunting. 

The Rev. Jolm Beecham. 

Frederick Bell, Esq. 

Jaaes Bell, Esq. 



Emanuel Cooper, Esq. 
Dandeson Coates, Esq. 
William Ewart, Esq., M. P. 
.William Evans, Esq., M. P. 
William Storrs Fry, Esq. 
J. Gurney Fry, Esq. 
W. E. Forster, Esq. 
Wm. E. Gladstone, Esq., M. P. 
Henry Goulburn, jun., Esq. 
Charles Grant, Esq. 
Dr. Gregory. 
Samuel Gurney, Esq. 
Samuel Gurney, jun., Esq. 
Samuel Hoare, Esq. 
John Gurney Hoare, Esq. 
William Hamilton, Esq. 
The Rev. R. E. Hankinson, jun. 
Benj. Hawes, jun., Esq., M. P. 
Dr. Hodgkin. 
John Irving, Esq., M. P. 
Andrew Johnson, Esq. 
, Capt. Kelly, R. N. 
J. J. Lister, Esq. 
L. C. Lecesne, Esq. 
Charles Lushington, Esq., M. P. 
James M'Queen, Esq. 
Richard Matthews, Esq. 
The Hon. Capt. Maude, R. N. 
Colonel Nicholls. 
E. W. W. Pendarves, Esq., M.P. 
Robert Pryor, Esq. 
C. L. Phillips, Esq. 
George R, Porter, Esq. 
W. Foster Reynolds, Esq. 
W. Rothery, Esq. 
Thomas Sturge,Esq. 
W. C. Stretfield, Esq. 
Benj. Smith, Esq., M.P. 
William Taylor, Esq. 
Colonel Torrens. 



COST OF NIGER EXPEDITION. 203 

Capt. Bosanquet, R. N. Capt. Trotter, R. N. 

William Brackenbury, Esq. H. R, Upcher, Esq. 

Thomas Clarkson, Esq. Capt. Washington, R. N. 

James Cook, Esq. Henry Waymouth, Esq. 

Treasurer — John Gurney Hoare. 
Secretary— The Rev. J. M. Trew. 
Receiving Bankers. 
Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, and Co., 54 Lombard street ; 
Messrs. Coutts and Co., 59 Strand; 
Messrs. Drummonds, Charing Cross; 
Messrs. Hanbury, Taylor, and Co., 60 Lombard street ; 
Messrs. Hankeys, 7 Fenchurch street; 
Messrs. Hoares, 37 Fleet street; and 
Messrs. Williams, Deacon, and Co., 20 Birchinlane. 

Every candid mind will perceive the high moral prin- 
ciple which pervades the work of Mr. Buxton, nor de- 
sire better security, that the scheme proposed and advo- 
cated in that work will be honestly and faithfully prose- 
cuted, than the well known integrity of the Chairman 
and other members of the provisional Committee. In 
regard to the Niger expedition, and the policy suggested 
as best for the overthrow of the slave trade and the civi- 
lization of Africa, differences of opinion exist, to some 
extent, among the good and intelligent of England. Yet 
no one can hesitate to award praise both to the English 
Government and to the Civilization Society, for the 
admirable manner in which this expedition has been 
fitted out, and the ample provision made, in all respects, 
to secure its safety and success. The estimated cost to 
the Government is *£61,263.'f The expedition consists 

* Nearly $300,000. 

t "NIGER EXPEDITION. — £61,263. 

"Estimate of the sum which will probably be required to defray 
the expenses of the expedition to the river Niger, for the period 
ending on the 31st of March, 1841. 



204 MISSION. 

of three iron steamers, strongly built, in accordance with 
the recommendation of Sir Edward Parry, and which 
bear the names of the Albert, in honor of the Royal 

" Cost of the two large vessels, including engines, masts, rig- 
ging, sails, anchors, cables,, and fixtures, £24,000; cost of the 
smaller vessel, including the same, £6,600. 

" For each vessel, one complete suit of spare sails, and of awn- 
ings ; a set of side awning, curtains, and a chevaux-de-frise ; an 
additional spare cable, and felting the boilers, and hooping them 
with wood, £ 1,046. 

" Extra fittings, and recent improvements, viz : a boat over each 
paddle-box, as fitted in the Firefly, estimated by Captain Trotter 
at £300 to £320; Seward's guage, for ascertaining the saltness 
of the water in the boilers, estimated at £40 ; a break, or com- 
presser, for paddle wheels, as fitted in the Gorgon and Cyclops, 
and apparatus for throwing out hot water from the boilers, for de- 
fence against the natives, £240; for oil-cloth for the decks, £70 
to £100. 

'*• For improving the ventilation, viz : fans for the three vessels 
with wheels, &c., £35 each, £105; pipes and tubes, £100 for 
each vessel, £300; fittings up and contingencies, £95; expenses 
of Dr. Reed, and remuneration to him, £ 100. 

" One superior life-boat, the cost of which is estimated at from 
£80 to £100 ; for the purchase of canoes in Africa, for heading 
the vessel, for soundings, and for sending intelligence, and helping 
the vessels in case of their getting aground ; together with a sum 
for the purchase of a shell of a small vessel at Sierra Leone, to 
take the Quorra, £300. 

" Tent equipage, for putting the sick on shore under cover, 
£442. 

" Tools for blasting rocks, £ 140 ; diving helmet, £ 100 ; spades, 
plug-bolts, and entrenching tools, £90 ; axes and saws for felling 
trees for supply of fuel, £150. 

" Mathematical and philosophical instruments, including two 
chronometers, packing, and contingencies, £344; additional in- 
struments for examining the channel and determining points of 
shoals and shores, £300; fitting up of compasses on Professor 
Airy's plan, so as to counteract the eifect of local attraction, £100 
for each vessel, £300. 



COST OF NIGER EXPEDITION. 205 

President of the Society; Wilberforce, in memory of 
that great philanthropist; and the Soudan, (or, more 
correctly, Habib-es-Sudan,) or Friend of the Blacks. 

'*For books, maps, musical instruments, portable kitchen, with 
small articles, packing, and contingencies, £340; for journeys of 
the commissioners to Liverpool, and elsewhere, on service, £200; 
for fitting up of the cabin for the commissioners, £100 to £117. 

"Presents to the African chiefs, £3,000; and for packing and 
contingencies, £300. 

" Gunners', carpenters', and boatswains' stores for 12 months, 
for the three vessels, to be supplied from Her Majesty's dockyards, 
and ordnance department, £4,000. 

" Engineers' stores for 12 months, for the three vessels, to be 
supplied from Her Majesty's dockyards, £1,000. 

"Carriage of boatswains', carpenters', and engineers' stores to 
Africa, £355. 

" Medical stores for the period it may be expected the ships may 
stay out, including bedding and other necessaries for the sick, and 
medicines to dispense to the natives, £300. 

" Coals at Liverpool, Falmouth, Lisbon, Cape de Verde, Sierra 
Leone, Fernando Po, and Ascension, including a large supply to 
be taken to Fernando Po, for assisting the passage up the river, 
and to Ascension and Sierra Leone, for use on the return of the 
expedition, £4,778. 

" Ordinary provisions for 12 months, £2,648 ; preserved meats 
and soups, to be served out to the crew instead of fresh provisions, 
£1,104; carriage of provisions to Fernando Po, and Sierra 
Leone, and from Sierra Leone to the mouth of the river, £726; 
expense of taking care of provisions and of stores at Fernando 
Po, and elsewhere, £220. 

" Salaries to commissioners and secretary, and additional allow- 
ance to chaplain and head surgeon, £4,000 ; clerk to the commis- 
sioners, £100 to £130. 

"Double wages for 12 months for 160 men, officers and crew, in 
the steam vessels, deducting the half-pay now enjoyed by the 
officers to be employed, £15,796; additional pay to engineers, 
when steam is up within the tropics, agreeably to Admiralty Re- 
gulations, say for six months, £675. 
18 



206 MissiOiY. 

The dimensions of these vessels, the two larger being of 
the same size and power, and with their stores alike, are 
as follows : 





Albert and Wilberforce, 


Soudan, 




ft. 


in. 


ft. in. 


Length on deck, 


136 




110 


Breadth of beam, 


27 




22 


Depth of hold, 


10 




8 6 


Draught of water, 


5 


9 


4 


Tonnage, about 


440 tons. 


250 tons. 



Two sliding keels 6 feet deep. 

" Each of the larger vessels has two engines of thirty- 
five horse power each, and can carry coals for fifteen 
days, (of twelve hours.) The smaller has one engine of 
thirty-five horse poAver, and can carry coals for ten days. 
The vessels have as roomy and airy accommodations as 
their size would permit. The Soudan is intended for 
detached service, when required, up smaller rivers, for 
conveying intelligence or invalids, and especially for 
sounding ahead of the other vessels in difficult or un- 
known navigation. 

" The vessels are thoroughly equipped with every ne- 
cessary, nay, every comfort, that prudence or foresight 
could dictate. The supply of provisions of all kinds is 
most ample, including preserved meats, chiefly prepared 

" Wages and victuals for 120 Kroomen, or other African sailors, to 
be entered at Sierra Leone, and to be employed during the stay of the 
expedition in Africa, say for nine months ; 11 of them to be paid as 
stokers, or 1st class petty officers, and the remainder as able or ordi- 
nary seamen or landsmen, as may be deemed expedient, £3,342. 

" Wages and victuals to the interpreters throughout the expedi- 
tion, including those who may be taken from Sierra Leone, £700. 

*' One month's gratuity to such Kroomen and interpreters as may 
have served faithfully and zealously during the whole of the expedi- 
tion, to be paid on their return from it, £200."— J fri can Colonizer, 



OUTFIT OF STEAMERS. 207 

by Ooldner, and sufficient for the support of the crew 
for four months. 

"For the purpose of enabUng the medical officers of the 
expedition to render their services useful to the natives, 
an extra quantity of medicines has been furnished to 
each of the ships ; and from the great respect, if not vene- 
ration, in which the healing art is held throughout Africa, 
it may be inferred that a judicious and liberal exercise of 
it will contribute much to the objects of the expedition. 

"With the view of endeavoring to supply a remedy for 
the want of a free circulation of fresh air between decks 
in a tropical climate, and for the miasma that usually 
prevails in alluvial soils on those coasts, a system of 
ventilating tubes has been fitted, under the able superin- 
tendence of Dr. Reid. With this is connected a cham- 
ber, containing woollen cloths, lime, &c., through which 
it is intended, whenever the presence of malaria is sus- 
pected, the air shall pass, previously to being circulated 
below by the ventilating apparatus."* 

The hope is indulged that, by carefully observing the 
effects of the malaric atmosphere on the substances in 
this chamber, something may be learned of this hitherto 
unknown, and formidable foe to life, and important bene- 
fits be thus rendered to mankind. 

Captain Trotter commands this expedition ; a gentle- 
man who (reminding me, by an aspect and manner of 
quiet earnestness and magnanimity, of the' late Mr. Ash- 
niun, whose wisdom and piety are imprinted on all the 
early records of Liberia,) well exemplifies the principles 
and spirit of Christianity, and has already, while station- 
ed upon the African coast, acted with great energy 
against slave traders and pirates, on one occasion pur- 

* Friend of Africa. 



208 MISSION. 

suing the latter for months, then capturing and bringing 
them to justice, and receiving for this service to huma- 
nity, the thanks of the President of the United States * 
The crews of the three vessels consist of 88 seamen and 
stokers, and of these not less than 20 are Africans by 
birth. It is expected to obtain the aid of 120 Kroomen 
on the coast. 

Though among the officers of this expedition are gen- 
tlemen of high attainments in science, yet the Civilization 
Society has awakened the friends of knowledge and hu- 
manity throughout England and the continent, to the 

* The following is a list of the officers in these steamers : 

ALBERT. 

Captain H. Dundas Trotter. Mate, J. W. Fairholme. 

Lieutenant E. G. Fishbourne, 2d Master, W. H. T. Green, 

H. C. Harston. Clerk, W. R. Bush. 

Master, G. B. Harvey. Clerk, assistant, J. Monat. 

Surgeon, J. O.M'Williani,M.D. Gunner, W. Merriman. 

Asst. Surg., Jas. Woodhouse. Eng'r, John Langley, 1st class- 

Purser, Wm. Bowden. 2d " 

Mate, W. C. Willie. ''• Jas. Brown, 3d " 
" M'Leod B. Cockcraft. 

WILBERFORCE. 

Commander, Wm. Allen. Mate, H. C. Toby. 

Lieutenant Jas. N. Strange. " H.F.N. Rolfe. 

Master, Wm. Forster. Clerk, J. H. R. W^ebb. 

Surgeon, Morris Pritchett. M.D. Engineer, Wm. Johnstone^ 
Assistant Surg., T. R. H. Thorn- 1st class. 

son. 2d " 

Purser, Cyrus Wakeham. G. Garritte, 3d " 

SOUDAN". 

Commander, Bird Allen. Mate, T. W. Sidney. 

Lieutenant, " A. B. Davis. 

Master, John Belam. " W. R. Webb. 

Surgeon, W. B. Marshall. Master's assistant, 

Asst. Surg., H. Colhnan. Eng'r, G. V. Gustaffson, 1st class • 

Clerk in charge, N. Waters. Wm. Johnson, 2d " 



GREAT INTEREST IN GERMANY. 209 

importance of securing every advantage which may be 
afforded for tearing off the veil which has so long hid 
Africa from the observations and inquiries of tlie learned 
world. During the last autumn, Capt. Washington, 
Secretary of the Geographical Society, visited Germany, 
and, by request of the General Committee, made known 
the objects of the Civilization Society, and from the 
princes and other distinguished persons of that country, 
(to whom he presented the work of Mr. Buxton,) 
received assurances of friendly co-operation in all mea- 
sures of promised relief and elevation to the people of 
Africa. Prince Metternich said, " Sir, there is nothing 
but the gospel and the plough which can civilize Afri- 
ca;" and added, "The general peace, the power of 
steam, and the discovery of the outlet of the Niger, 
seem to point out the very road to which all our efforts 
should be directed." Individuals eminent for science 
and philanthropy at Bonn, Frankfort, Vienna, Dresden, 
Berlin, Leipsic, and many other places, entered with en- 
thusiastic ardor into the designs of the expedition, and 
at Berlin "Mr. Gossner, the venerable pastor of the 
Bohemian church, when he had heard all the objects of 
the Society, and its plans and hopes for the melioration 
of Africa, fell down on his knees, and blessed God that 
he had lived to see the day that the dearest wish of his 
heart was about to be carried into execution." The 
venerable Humboldt manifested a deep concern for the 
prosperity of the Society and the success of the expedition. 
The commanders of these steamers, with Capt. Cook, 
(known for his humane exertions to rescue the crew of 
the Kent East Indiaman, when on fire at sea,) are com- 
missioners, appointed by the English Government to 
form treaties with the native powers. 
18* 



210 MISSION. 

While every physical want of this expedition has been 
generously provided for by the Government, the General 
Committee of the Civilization Society have neglected no 
means, and spared no expense, to secure the services of 
able men in the several departments of natural history. 

Dr. Vogel, late acting Director of the botanic garden 
at Bonn, and recommended both for his abilities and 
" excellent moral qualities," by the learned Humboldt, 
and who unites skill in science to practical knowledge of 
horticulture, goes out as botanist to the expedition. 

Mr. Roscher, a practical miner, educated at the Acade- 
my of Mines in Freiberg, (the school of Humboldt and 
Werner,) is appointed geologist and mineralogist to the 
same. 

Mr. Frazer, a young naturalist, (who has been curator 
in the Zoological Society in London,) will examine, col- 
lect, and preserve specimens from a region unexplored 
by any adept in his department. 

^ A practical gardener and seedsman is employed, who 
goes entrusted with the most useful seeds and plants and 
is instructed to explain their uses, and teach the natives 
the modes of cultivation. 

A draughtsman also accompanies the expedition to 
furnish sketches of various objects, and of the scenery 
and features of the country. 

In the arrangements thus made for the advantage of 
science the Civilization Society incurs an expense very 
considerably exceeding £1,000.* 

The committee have also (aided by M. D'Avezac, of 
Paris, and two Ashantee princes who have been receiving 
education at the expense of the British Government in 
England,) and Mr. De Graft, a native Fanti, prepared a 

* About #5,000. 



INTEREST OF THE FRIENDS OF SCIENCE. 211 

printed vocabulary of six African languages, spoken in 
the countries bordering on the Niger, and also forwarded 
to Sierra Leone and Cape Coast Castle for translation a 
series of medical enquiries prepared by Dr. M'William, 

The eyes of the friends of science in England have 
been directed from many points towards this expedition, 
and counsel and assistance cheerfully granted by learned 
men and societies in the preparation of instruments and 
the suggestion of modes for their most accurate and con- 
venient use. The Royal Society undertook to superintend 
the construction of magnetic instruments and furnished in- 
structions for observing the magnetic influences in Africa. 

The medical gentlemen of the expedition take with 
them an ample supply of the vaccine matter, (a large por- 
tion carefully put up by Mr. Ceely of Aylesbury, who has 
acquired reputation by his experiments, showing the 
identity of small pox and cow pox,) and no pains will be 
spared in making known at every place in Africa which 
may be visited, the mode of disarming one of the most 
fatal diseases of its destructive power. 

By a careful analysis by Professor Daniell, of King's 
College, London, and other chemists, of the water brought 
from many different parts of the African coast, and from 
the mouths of African rivers, it is ascertained that several 
of them contain a very extraordinary quantity of sul- 
phuretted hydrogen gas, (at Cape Lopez of 11.69 cube 
inches to the gallon, and of grand Bonny of 14 cube 
inches per gallon,) and it is not doubted, that to the dele- 
terious qualities of this gas, much of the disease of those 
regions is to be attributed. Professor Daniell has shown, 
by experiment, that the origin of this gas is traceable to 
the reaction of vegetable matter upon the sulphate of 
soda in sea water, and has suggested a simple mode of 
generating chlorine, which by decomposing this gas de- 



212 MISSION. 

stroys its power to injure.* While it is supposed this 
gas may extend along the African coast 1,000 miles, (co- 
vering some 40,000 square miles,) and some thirty or 
forty miles up the rivers, it is probably not found far in 

* "King's College, 5ih Februaiy, 1841. 

" My Dear Sir : As any confirmation of my idea, that the 
unhealthiness of the African coast is dependent, in a great degree, 
upon the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen, is calculated to give 
confidence to those who are about to start upon the expedition to 
the Niger, from the certainty of the means of counteraction within 
our power, I hasten to communicate to you the result of an experi- 
ment which certainly determines the origin of thatdeleterious gas 
to be the reaction of vegetable matters upon the sulphate of soda 
in sea water. 

" On the 2d of November last I placed a quantity of newly 
fallen leaves in three glass jars capable of holding about one and 
a half gallons of water. 

" No. 1. Upon the first I poured about a gallon of new river 
water. 

" No. 2. Upon the second 1 poured about the same quantity of 
the same water, in which three ounces of common salt had been 
dissolved. 

" No. 3. Upon the third, the same quantity of water in whiqh 
three ounces of crystallized sulphate of soda had been dissolved. 

" The three jars were then placed in a warm chamber, the tem- 
perature of which varied from about 70° to 110°, and the water 
was filled up from time to time, as it evaporated, and the mixture 
well stirred. 

" Upon examining them yesterday, the following was found to 
be tte state of the jars : — 

"No. 1 had a very disagreeable odour, but produced no change 
whatever upon paper soaked in acetate of lead. 

"No. 2 was perfectly sweet, and possessed, indeed, a rather 
agreeable odour. It produced no effect, of course, upon the test 
paper. 

" No 3 had a most insupportable sickening odour, much worse 
than that of pure sulphuretted hydrogen, and instantly blackened 
paper soaked in acetate of lead, throwing down sulphuret of lead 
with a metallic lustre. 



USE OF CHLORINE RECOMMENDED. 213 

the interior. The expedition will make experiments at 
all points to ascertain the composition of the waters and 
how far diseases may be caused by the decomposition of 
vegetable matter in the water of the ocean. 

The Rev. T. O. Muller, who has resided in Egypt and 
is familiar with the Arabic language, and in every respect 
well qualified for his station, is chaplain to the expedition. 

Two young Ashantees, of high rank in their own coun- 

"If you, or any of your friends, would like to see the experi- 
ment in its present stage, it would give me the greatest pleasure to 
show it. 

"Now, for all this, chlorine fumigation is the certain remedy, and 
I have taken the liberty of sending you herewith some memoranda 
for conducting the process, with the earnest hope that they may 
be useful to the expedition. " I remain, &c., 

«J. F. DANIELL. 
" Capt. Washington, R. N. 

"memokanda for fumigation by chlokine. 

" One part by weight of common salt, and one part of the black 
oxide of manganese are to be acted upon by two parts of oil of 
vitriol, previously mixed with one part, by weight of water, (nine 
measures of acid, ten of water,) and left till cold. Such a mixture 
will immediately begin to evolve chlorine at a temperature of 60°, 
and continue to do so for four days in a gradual manner, without 
the application of any extraneous heat. 

*' The vessels in which the mixture is made may be flat pans of 
any common earthenware. 

" Three and a half pounds of the mixed salt and manganese, 
with four and half pounds of the mixed acid and water, are calcu- 
lated to yield five and a half cubic feet of chlorine. 

" In suspected situations it would be desirable to have one or two 
charges of three and half pounds of the salt and manganese placed 
on the windward side of the deck, to be renewed on every fifth 
day. It is, however, impossible to give directions for the exact 
quantity, the object being to preserve an atmosphere smelling of 
chlorine, but not sufficient to produce any irritation of the lungs, 
or coughing. 

"Between the decks this kind of fumigation would be too 



214 MISSION. 

try, William Quantamissah and John Ansah, who have 
been educated at the expense of the English Government, 
and visited many of the manufactories, mines, cities and 
miiversities of the kingdom, return home in this expe- 
dition, much impressed and benefitted by civilization and 
Christianity. They were some years since given up to 
the English as hostages by the king of Ashantee, (one of 
them being his son,) and her Majesty's Government has 
afforded them the best advantages for improvement, in the 
hope that through them the arts of civilized life and the 
blessings of the true religion might be imparted to the 
most powerful nation of western Africa.* In a tour 
through England, under the care of the Rev. Thomas 
Pyne, they received the kindest attentions, "and I can 
only say," observes the gentleman, " that the goodness 
and hospitality were universal; and if ever my country 
appeared honorable in my eyes, it has been in witnessing 
the reception of these two young persons, the sons of a 
long oppressed race." They visited the archbishop of 

strong ; but pans containing chloride of hme and water would be 
sufficient protection. The solution, however, should be frequently 
renewed. 

" A charge of the chlorine mixture would be very advantageously 
placed in the hold, if it were to be found not to produce any seri- 
ous annoyance. It should also be remembered that there is no- 
thing injurious in the odour of chlorine, provided it be not in such 
excess as to produce coughing. 

"J. F. DANIELL. 
^' King's College, 5th February, 1841." 

* It is quite probable that motives less praiseworthy, may also 
have had influence with the Government in this matter ; I mean 
of a commercial nature, While these princes (as they were 
termed,) were conducted to the great works of England and made 
acquainted with her wealth and power, I was informed that they 
were not permitted to visit the continent. 



ASHANTEE PRINCES. 215 

Canterbrry, who after conversing with them in the most 
obliging manner, gave them each a prayer book and his 
blessing. The Queen, dressed in her robes of state, and 
accompanied by Prince Albert, admitted them to her pre- 
sence and recommended them " to endeavor to teach their 
people." They appeared fond of the scriptures, devout 
at worship in the family and at church, were amiable in 
temper, and grateful for benefits. They requested thanks 
to be presented in their name to the Government and to 
Sir T. F. Buxton, their constant friend, and shed tears 
at thought of their departure. " It was my wish," says 
Mr. Pyne, " to lead them to contemplate Christ as their 
pattern, and to accustom themselves to ask ' how would 
my Saviour have acted had he been in like circumstances 
to mine .^' This, 1 conceive, next to the trust in the 
atonement, and to pray for divine guidance, will be their 
best rule of life."* 

When we consider that the Ashantee country is sup- 
posed to contain a population of at least one million, 
debased by most cruel superstitions, and crushed by an 
absolute and remorseless despotism ; that the blood of 
human victims is poured out in the streets of Comossie, 
(the capital,) and their bodies cast aside in the highway 
and thickets, to be devoured by wild beasts ; it is impos- 
sible that we should not rejoice in the Christian educa- 
tion of these youths, and that they seem disposed to 

* While these two young men were on their last visit to Sir T. 
Dyke Acland, at Killerton, Devon, this gentleman took them into 
his park, and, causing them to plant a tree each, on a spot where 
two trees had died, said: "Observe what you have done; you 
have planted two living trees in the place of two dead ones. Let 
these trees be an emblem to you, as- they will be a memorial to 
us. See that in returning, as you so soon will do, to your country, 
you root up the dead tree of superstition and slavery, and plant in 
its stead the tree of life." 



216 MISSION. 

make known to their countrymen that truth which is 
mighty to rebuke the crimes and subdue the ferocity of 
wild and savage men.* 

Thousands visited these steamers while lying in the 
Thames, near London ; and from a personal examination 
of the Albert, the writer can testify to the extreme care 
and skill exhibited in the entire structure, furniture, and 
arrangements of this vessel. A very handsome and valu- 
able library (including the best works on Africa,) adorned 
the commodious and beautiful apartment of the comman- 
der. 

His Royal Highness, Prince Albert, inspected these ves- 
sels, it being the first visit paid by him to any of Her 
Majesty's ships in commission, and evinced the deepest 

*"The ashantees at oxford. — Amongst the numerous 
visitors to our University during the present month, have been 
Prince William Quantamissah and Prince John Ansah, of Ashan- 
tee, under the guidance of the Rev. Thomas Pyne, M. A. They 
stayed at the Angel Hotel nearly a week, during which time they 
were most hospitably received by the Vice- Chancellor, the Regis- 
trar of the University, and the heads of colleges ; and by many of 
whom they were entertained after visiting their respective col- 
leges. Both expressed themselves exceedingly gratified by the at- 
tention shown them ; and pleased with the grandeur of the differ- 
ent buildings. The princes are cousins, and nephews of the 
present Sovereign, and one of them the son of the late King, at 
whose funeral (said to be the grandest thatjias ever taken place,) 
no less than three thousand persons were immolated, including his 
wives and many of the nobility. This barbarous custom arises 
from the superstitious belief that it will be necessary for their 
Sovereigns to be attended by similar retinues when they appear 
before the Great Spirit, as when they walked on earth. The prin- 
ces were hostages for ten years at Cape Coast, for the preservation 
of peace between their country and our government. They have 
since been baptized and become Christians, and have prayers regu- 
larly every morning and evening, with their chaplain, the Rev. 
Mr. Vyne.''— Oxford Herald. 



PRINCE ALBERT. 217 

concern for the health of the officers, and for the success 
of their exertions. On taking the chair at the first meet- 
ing of the Society in Exeter Hall, a few months before, 
he had declared that he had been induced to preside on 
the occasion from a conviction of the paramount impor- 
tance of the institution to the great interests of humanity 
and justice. A few days after the visit of Prince Albert 
to these ships. Captains Trotter, William Allen, and Bird 
Allen, received each a highly finished chronometer, bear- 
ing the following inscription : 

" Presented by his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, to 

, of her Majesty's steamer , on his departure 

with the expedition to the Niger, for the abolition of the 
slave trade.— March 23, 1841." 

The sympathies of British Christians have been gene- 
rally excited, and their fervent prayers ofiered in behalf 
of this expedition. Those who compose it have mani- 
fested a becoming reverence for the Great Author of their 
lives and hopes, and sense of dependence upon his Provi- 
dence. Two discourses are on our table, preached on 
board the Albert, just before her departure; the first by 
the chaplain, Mr. Muller, and the last by the Rev. C. F. 
Childe, M. A., Principal of the Church Missionary Col- 
lege, Islington. The words in which Mr. Childe con- 
cludes, have a solemnity and pathos well suited to the 
occasion. 

" Go forth, brethren, in the name and strength of the 
Lord, and success must be yours. The manner or the 
time of its manifestation we may not determine. The 
process may be painful. You may not live to reap the 
fruit of your labor, but you shall not labor in vain. God 
calls you to the enterprize; your Sovereign's auspices 
invite you ; your country's sympathies attend you ; the 
19 



218 MISSION-. 

prayers of Christendom follow yoti ; and though it he 
but little that the 'least of all saints' can proffer, J do 
earnestly and affectionately implore the God of Britain 
and your God, to be with you ; to be your sun and shield ; 
to give you grace and glory, so that to live, should you 
live, may be Christ, and to die, when you die, may be 
gain." 

The Soudan sailed from Plymouth on the 19th of 
April; the Albert and Wilberforce on the 12th of May. 
They touched at Liberia on the 9th of July, the writer 
having had the pleasure of giving letters of introduction 
to Captain Trotter, to the Governor of that colony. At 
Cape Coast Castle, the steamers were to be replenished 
with coals from a store ship, and make arrangements for 
the ascent of the Niger. It is proposed that the expedi- 
tion make its first stop at Ibu, one hundred and twenty 
miles from the sea ; thence, with little delay, proceed to 
the first hills at the apex of the Delta, about forty miles 
above; thence to Attah, sixty miles; thence to the mouth 
of the Chadda, two hundred and seventy miles from the 
ocean, where efforts will be made to negotiate treaties, 
and convince the natives of the benevolent objects of the 
expedition. The upper parts of the Quorra, and also the 
Chadda, may thence be explored. Some parties, it is 
thought, might reach lake Chad, on the east, or Tumbuktu 
to the north-west, thus connecting the exploratory jour- 
neys of Denham, Clapperton, and Laing, with points to 
be correctly laid down by this expedition, " which is 
supplied with twelve of the best chronometers, and with 
the necessary instruments for a complete geographical 
survey of the rivers and countries which may be explor- 
ed. The committee, contemplating such a possible op- 
portunity, has placed £1000 at the disposal of the com- 



JUSTICE TO THE CIVILIZATION SOCIETY. 219 

mander of the expedition, to be used either in some 
benevolent plans for the Africans, or in endeavoring to 
gain a more intimate knowledge of the interior of tlie 
country. Such journeys as we have alluded to, would 
not be barely geographical researches, but the traveller 
would be instructed to carry out to the fullest extent the 
benevolent objects of the mission, and to procure every 
information that would, at a future time, enable us the 
more effectually to become 'The Friend of Africa.'"* 

No insensibility to the merits or cherished ignorance 
of the proceedings and success of the American Coloni- 
zation Society, on the part of the committee of the Civi- 
lization Society, no coldness and neglect manifested 
towards the writer, as representing the views and expec- 
tations of the friends of African colonization in the 
United States, shall induce him to withhold a just, al- 
though perhaps inadequate, tribute of praise to the go- 
vernment and philanthropists of England, for the generous 
and Christian manner in which they are engaged in en- 
deavors to relieve and bless the most injured and afflicted 
population of the globe. True, considerations of patrio- 
tism may blend with their sentiments of humanity, and 
the hope of commercial gain prove a stimulus to Chris- 
tian benevolence, and yet to them may be due the appro- 
bation of all virtuous minds. The imperfections of our 
nature will tinge the best schemes and works of man ; 
and well does it become us, until we can feel conscious 
of no fault or infirmity, to interpret charitably each 
other's conduct, and not unkindly question the motives of 
noble actions. I have confidence in the integrity and 
benevolence of the African Civilization Society ; and, 

*" Friend of Africa," published by the African Civilization 
Society, and to which I am much indebted. 



220 MISSION. 

while regarding the plan of colonization developed in 
Liberia, as above all others important to Africa, I have 
some apprehensions, that, miless a spirit in her cause, 
holier and more ardent, animate our hearts, the judgment 
of posterity will assign to us but a second place among 
her deliverers and benefactors. If there be cause for 
such apprehensions, heaven grant that it soon cease to 
exist. What excuse can this nation offer that no explor- 
ing expedition has been sent to the African coast ; that 
no liberal appropriations from the public funds, are made 
to assist a people to whom good offices are most justly- 
due, to recover their long lost inheritance, and reclaim 
the barbarous, perishing millions of their ancient mother 
country .'' Not that I would lightly regard the expendi- 
tures by the State of Maryland, and some measure of 
aid and encouragement from the government of the Union, 
yet is it but too true that as a nation we have done no- 
thing in this case to be compared to the greatness of the 
object, or worthy of our character. We are yet to make, 
as a nation, our first grand movement for Africa ; nor can 
we act too soon, or with too much pow^er. 

A word of the causes that disinclined Sir T. F. Bux- 
ton and his associates to the avowal of opinions and the 
adoption of measures in concord with the views and 
policy of the American Colonization Society. 

First. Convictions, produced mainly by American 
Abolitionists, that the Colonization Society obstructs the 
cause of emancipation in America. Our social and 
political condition, and the condition of the African race 
in this country, are very imperfectly understood, even by 
enlightened Englishmen. They do not readily perceive 
how associations, on the principle of immediate emanci- 
pation, in Great Britain, should have proved so mighty 



OPPOSING CAUSES. 221 

in overthrowing slavery in the West Indies, and that simi- 
lar societies in this country should prove less effective. 
They naturally give credit to the publications of Ameri- 
can Anti-slavery societies, and welcome to their shores 
and confidence their agents and lecturers. The most 
horrible pictures of the wrongs of slavery are exhibited 
before public assemblies, and the Colonization Society 
denounced as the worst engine of oppression ever de- 
vised by fraud and wickedness. The most shocking 
instances of injustice and crime in the treatment of 
slaves, which have been collected and circulated by the 
Abolitionists on this side the Atlantic, are reprinted and 
dispersed abroad in England, to strengthen prejudice and 
inflame the popular passions against our southern States. 
Thus the English public are well prepared to believe, 
without examination, that an institution, condemned by 
American Abolitionists, and supported in part by Ameri- 
can slave-holders, is undeserving of approbation. While 
many intelligent English Christians are compelled to 
admit Liberia to be a light and blessing to Africa, they 
condemn those who planted it as hostile to the freedom 
of the slave in the United States. Their doctrines on 
this subject, and their ideas of American slavery, are 
derived from Americans. What was the language of the 
delegates from American Anti-slavery societies, before 
English audiences, during the last year.^* 

* "I lament the temper mutnaWy rankling between the slave- 
iiolders and the Abolitionists, and am convinced that, so long as it 
shall exist, the abolition of slavery in this Union, or even in the 
District of Columbia, is as far beyond the regions of possibility, 
as any project of the philosophers of Laputa. The multiplication 
of anti-slavery sosieties within the last three years has appeared 
to me rather to weaken than to promote their cause, or at least 
their prospects of immediate or early success. With the increase 
19* 



222 MISSION. 

On the 27th of July, 1840, Mr. Wm. Lloyd Garrison 
(of Boston,) addressed a large meetmg in Dr. Wardlaw's 
chapel, Glasgow, and among other things, is reported to 
have said — 

" There was nothing so palatable to the supporters of perpetual 
slavery, as the American colonization scheme. Why, what was 
the design of it ? It was to get rid of the ' niggers,' as they called 
them — to ship out of the country every free colored person, that 
the slaves might be held more securely in bondage, and that they 
might have no temptation to long for freedom from the presence 
of freemen of their own complexion around them." 

Again : " The Abolitionists had a perfect right, according to 
the professions of those who had taken on them the name of 
Christ, to demand that they should go forward in the good cause ; 
but where was the American church that was on the side of hu- 

of their numbers, new and collateral questions, always contro- 
vertible and perplexing, like parasite suckers from the main stem 
of the tree, have sprung up to divide their counsels and introduce 
dissension among themselves. The captious disputations of moral 
and political casuistry, about non-resistance, defensive war, the 
rights of women, political action, no Government, the social con- 
dition of the colored race, the encouragement given to the slaves 
to escape from their masters, and exaggerated representations of 
the miseries of their condition, have eminently concurred not only 
to counteract their influence upon the main object of their asso- 
ciation, but to make them unpopular and even odious, not only in 
the South, but in all parts of the Union. Their annoyance of 
candidates for popular election, by putting searching questions to 
them as tests, importing at once a promise and a threat, has not 
propitiated to them the good will of any party, and has made them 
obnoxious to all. The purity of the principle of these formal 
interrogatories, for answers to be follow^ed by suffrages, is very 
questionable, with reference to the freedom of elections. The 
expedient itself has seldom if ever been successful to accomplish 
its object. It has, in almost every instance, disclosed the weak- 
ness of the Abolitionists as a party, distinct from the great politi- 
cal competitors for the favor and the power of the people." 

John Q. Adams. 



SPIRIT OF THE ABOLITONISTS. 223 

manity ? Was the church cheering on the little band of Abolition- 
ists ? Oh, no ! the most deadly enemy of the abolitionist cause 
was the American Church — it had no flesh in its obdurate heart. 
Oh, none whatever. All denominations were included; they 
would give no countenance to a movement, having for its object 
the cause of religion and humanity. They took the ground that 
slavery was justifiable — that necessity demanded it — that on the 
whole it was not anti-christian, and they brought Scripture to 
prove that it was right to hold human beings in slavery. They 
hated the doctrine of emancipation. * * * * -^^^ when he 
said this in sorrow against the Christian Church, he did not wish 
to be understood as saying that all individuals and churches, or 
synods, were opposed to their cause. Thanks be to God, there 
were men who loved the abolition cause, but they were hated and 
denounced as the disturbers of the peace, and attempts were 
making to bring them under the discipline of the Church, and 
cast them off. Last year, the Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church, in Philadelphia, came to the conclusion that, as they had 
no judicial or legislative voice as to the emancipation of slaves, 
therefore they would not lift their voice in the matter; but they 
had judicial and legislative power enough to libel those who held 
abolition vievi^s. The Baptists were no better, and the Methodists 
were, if possible, worse than all." 

Again : " It was an axio/n with the opposers of abolition, that 
God had made a distinction between the classes of people, and 
that we must hate them when we meet them. This was Christian 
doctrine in America." 

At the World's Anti-slavery Convention in London, 
in June, 1841, J. G. Birney, Esq., among other thmgs 
said — 

" The colonization scheme in his country was the strongest an- 
tagonist to the free principle advocated by the friends of the 
negro ; and although it was ineffectual in carrying out the object 
in view, yet it was not ineffective in its opposition to the Anti- 
slavery Society." 

The Rev. John Keep, of Ohio, at the same Conven- 
tion said — 

"As an American citizen, he might be allowed to say a few 
words on the state of the question there. They had the American 



224 MISSION. 

Government, the American Ministry, and the American Church 
against them, but their cause was rapidly making way. The 
state of society in the United States showed them how deep, how 
forbidding, and how appalling, were the horrors of the American 
slave system ; and how, he would ask, was it for a few philan- 
thropists to go forward to the consummation of the work, unless 
they were assisted and encouraged by the blessing of God, and 
their fellow philanthropists on this side of the Atlantic. He trust- 
ed that that slave-cursed country would occupy still more of the 
attention of the Convention, that they would lay aside every thing 
like prejudice, or that was calculated to keep back British influ- 
ence, British prayers, and, if need be, British money, to sustain 
the anti-slaver)^ operations in America." 

Mr. Stanton said among other things — 

" The northern slave states reared slaves whom the southern 
states worked into premature graves. The former were the 
Congos and Guineas of American slavery to the extreme southern 
states. In raising hemp and tobacco at home, they did not need 
slave labor. Slavery, therefore, was profitable in the northern 
states by raising men and women for sale; and he would only 
say, with regard to their ambassador to this country, that while he 
was a slave holder, if he did not traffic in human flesh, he was an 
exception to the great mass of Virginian slave holders, and he 
thought it incumbent on that gentleman to prove that he came 
within the exception, instead of the general rule." 

"Mr. O'Connel.— He denies any knowledge of such practices 
in America." 

" Mr. Stanton. — Then he is too ignorant to represent the Ameri- 
can people here, or too dishonest; for there is on this table a docu- 
ment from the press of his native state, which says that in 1806, 
twenty millions of dollars worth of slaves, were sold from Virginia 
to the other states. Virginia not a slave breeding state ! in what 
else is her property but in human flesh ?"* 

Again in his address at Glasgow, BIr. Stanton said — 
'•'Let the religious bodies in this country resolve to hold no fel- 

* Mr. Stanton is a young man from New England, and we have never heard of 
his visiting any Southern State. We would not, without clearest evidence, have 
believed that any American citizen would have rudely attacked the Minister of 
1) i.- own country, in the presence of thousands, in a foreign capital ! 



SPIRIT OF THE ABOLITINISTS. 225 

lowship with the supporters of slavery ; would any of them hold 
fellowship with a church whose members traded in sheep stealing ? 
And which was the worst, the stealers of men with the image of 
God stamped on their soul, or the stealers of beasts, whose spirit at 
death goeth downwards ? The meeting would perhaps hardly be- 
lieve it; but it was a fact, that in many places, so perverted were 
the minds of the people, that a man who should be cruel to a beast, 
would not be allowed to pass without censure from his church, 
while not a word would be said were he to flay his slave alive." 

Mr. Wendell Phillips, (of Boston,) among other things 
said — 

" The fact was, it might be said of America, in this country, 
that the sceptre had not departed from Judah — that though the 
connection had been dissolved between this country and America, 
as far as holding its own Parliaments and directing its own affairs, 
yet they were in its vassalage as far as talents and genius were 
concerned. 

" The anti-slavery Abolitionists had eloquent and devoted men 
in their cause ; but the American public would not listen to them. 
England, and England alone, was the fulcrum by which American 
glory was to be uprooted for ever. It rested not with America, 
for it was beyond her power." 

Mr. G. Bradburn, of Massachusetts, said — 

" Now what is the meaning of the term republic ? Why, it 
meant a state governed for the whole community. Was the in- 
terest of the whole community considered by any state, whether 
a republic or not, where slavery was allowed to exist ? Yet such 
was the state of things in repubUcan America. Why even the 
Autocrat of Russia, who held his authority from God alone, ad- 
mitted that the Government should be carried on for the benefit of 
the people ; and he would venture to say, that the Government of 
Russia was far more like a republic, than the Government of 
America, for in the latter country they did not profess to carry on 
the Government for the benefit of the whole, for there it was said 
all men were born equal with one another, with the exception of 
negroes. They had not the liberty of the press in America, neither 
had they religious liberty, for a man in that country could not alter 
his religious convictions with respect to slavery, unless that con- 
viction was that it was patriarchal." 



226 MISSION. 

Mr. Galonsha, (of Vermont, we believe,) said — 
"The meeting must remember that there was but one blot upon 
the character of America. The onl}' apology he could offer for 
his country was, that it was possessed of the Devil. The dele- 
gates from America asked for the aid of the people, through their 
literature, their religion, and their prayers, to exorcise America, and 
drive the demon of slavery out of her." 

These are but a few sentences (as specimens,) of the 
spirit and style of speeches, which, (if collected together, 
would constitute volumes,) were made during the last year 
by American citizens before large audiences in England. 
It may be well imagined that they left deep impressions. 
Most men are influenced rather by appeals to the imagi- 
nation than the reason ; with them, passion rules the 
judgment. It is more agreeable to nations, as to indi- 
viduals, to denounce the errors and sins of others, than 
to consider and correct their own. It is easy to pour 
forth a flood of sympathy and remonstrance in behalf of 
the oppressed of distant lands, and reproach those whom 
we deem guilty of this oppression, while the cry of 
misery is at our doors, and through our own evil policy, 
thousands starve and perish in our streets. Censure is 
often a tax paid by selfishness to hypocrisy. 

In the second place, the benevolent of England do not 
clearly discriminate between the elements involved in the 
subject of American slavery and the system they have 
abolished in the West Indies, and their self-complacency 
in view of their o^vn act of emancipation, disposes them 
to expect others to imitate their example. Pride is ever 
the concomitant of arbitrary power. Whatever might 
be said in defence of the conduct of England towards 
the West India planters, at the tribunal of humanity or 
religion, she has, according to Granville Sharp, the great 
father of English abolition, in forcing emancipation upon 



WEST INDIAN EMANCIPATION. 227 

those denied their natural right to representation in Par- 
liament, violated a fundamental principle of the British 
constitution.* She has reduced the white population of 

* How keenly the planters felt the arbitrary acts of Parliament, 
appears from the following resolutions, adopted by the House of 
Assembly in Jamaica, 31st October, 1838 : 

" Resolved, 1st. That the act of the British Parliament, inti- 
tuled ' An act for the better government of prisons in the West 
Indies,' is a violation of our inherent rights as British subjects, 
as recognized by the Constitution of this Island, and by act of 
Parliament, 18 Geo. iii, c. 12 ; and that the same has not, and 
ought not, to have the force of law in this Island ; and that the 
authorities will not be justified in acting on it." For this resolu- 
tion, ayes 24, noes 5. 

" Resolved, 2d. That the violation of our rights by the Parlia- 
ment of Great Britain, in which we are not represented, is the less 
excusable, inasmuch as this House was prepared to enter into the 
consideration of prison discipline as soon as the report of her 
Majesty's commissioner was officially before them." Ayes 25, 
noes 3. 

" Resolved, 3d. That the House have witnessed with the deep- 
est regret, the unmerited censures passed upon the inhabitants of 
this Island; the extent to which the public mind in Great Britain 
has been poisoned against them ; the absence of all confidence in 
the legislature ; the reckless manner in which the laws passed by 
it have been disallowed, and the system of legislation for the colo- 
nies, which has been determined on, whereby the power of the 
House has been fettered, and that body has ceased to exist for any 
purpose useful to the people it represents." Ayes 24, noes 5. 

"Resolved, 4th. Therefore, that in the opinion of this House, 
they will best consult their own honor, the rights of their consti- 
tuents, and the peace and well being of the colony, by abstaining 
from the exercise of any legislative functions, excepting such as 
may be necessary to preserve inviolate the faith of the Island 
with the public creditor, until her most gracious Majesty's plea- 
sure shall be made known, whether her subjects of Jamaica, now, 
happily, all in a state of freedom, are henceforth to be treated as 
subjects with the power of making laws, as hitherto, for their 
own government, or whether they are to be treated as a conquered 



228 MISSION. 

the West Indies to political slavery, that she might raise 
the blacks to personal freedom, softening, it is true, the 
despotism of her act by the grant of twenty millions of 
pounds to those whom she has compelled to yield to it. 
Certainly, the writer hopes, as all good men desire, that 

colony, and governed by Parliamentary legislation, orders in coun- 
cil, and, as in the case of the late amended abolition act, by 
investing the Governor of the Island with the arbitrary power of 
issuing proclamations having the force of law over the lives and 
properties of the people." Ayes 24, noes 5. 

Upon the adoption of these resolutions, the Governor (Sir 
Lionel Smith,) prorogued the Assembly to the 3d of Novembei'. 

The House of Assembly that met in November, concurred in 
the views expressed in the resolutions of their predecessors, and 
the body was dissolved. 

The Assemblies of St. Vincent's, and of Tobago, also express 
their sense of an infraction of their chartered rights by the acts of 
the British Parliament. 

From the work of Joseph John Gurney, who visited several of 
the West India islands in the early part of last year, we infer that 
the Jamaica House of Assembly had resumed their legislation, yet 
several of their very recent acts were, in his opinion, opposed to 
the true intent and purpose of the act of emancipation. If so, 
there is little doubt that they will be over-ruled by the home Go- 
vernment. 

I have examined with some care, the documents printed by 
order of Parliament, relating to the effects of emancipation, and 
the present state of the British West Indies, and find the testimo- 
ny of the planters and their agents, and that of the stipendiary 
magistrates, and other officers of the Crown, widely to disagree. 
I have also read attentively, the letters of that intelligent and 
eminently Christian man, Mr. Gurney. 

It must be admitted, I think, that the crops have greatly dimin- 
ished, and that much less labor has been performed in the same 
time, sftice emancipation, than during slavery. A friend in Lon- 
don gave me a statement of the sugar crop from many estates in 
the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica, during the )^ears 1838, 
1839, and 1840, compared with the average crop under slavery. 
The result is, omitting fractions : 



WEST INDIAN EMANCIPATION. 229 

her bold and precipitate measures, in this case, may 
finally augment the happiness of the emancipated, and 
of the entire population of her West India colonies. 

Slave labor, During agitations and process of 

Average crop. emancipation, and since. 

18.38 1839 ^ 1840 

Hhds. Hhds. Hhds. Hhds. 

11,000 4,000 3,300 2,000 

And yet, Mr. Gurney was assured " that landed property in that 
Island now, without the slaves, is worth its full former value, 
including the slaves, during the times of depression, which pre- 
ceded the act of emancipation. It has found its bottom, has risen, 
and is still gradually rising. 'I believe, in my conscience,' says 
Dr. Stewart, ' that property in Jamaica, without slaves, is as 
valuable as it formerly v/as with them. I believe its value would 
be doubled by sincerely turning from all the relics of slavery to 
the honest, free working of a free system.' " 

It is clear that we cannot yet form an accurate judgment of 
what is to be the social and political condition of the British West 
Indian colonies. That the views and opinions of the planters are 
too little regarded, that a rash zeal has stimulated England to 
wrest nearly every power from their hands, is certain. But 
diminished crops, and various embarrassments, for a time, of the 
social system, are evils greatly over-balanced, we must think, by 
the prospective benefits secured to the emancipated, and ultimate- 
ly to the entire population. The reports of the Governor, and 
officers of the Crown generally, represent a great improvement as 
manifest in the morals, education, and comforts of the liberated 
slaves. Making due allowance for their desire to gratify the 
wishes of the English people, we presume this to be true. They, 
as well as Mr, Gurney, attribute the existing difficulties to unfair- 
ness, unkindness, or injustice on the part of the land-owners Cer- 
tain stipendiary .magistrates, in one of their reports, say, " We 
cannot conclude this reply to the Trelawney report, without 
remarking, that the abrogation of the apprenticeship has, with 
astonishing celerity, developed all those elements of prosperity 
contemplated by statesmen as one of its most important objects, 
in a degree beyond the most sanguine expectations ; as evinced in 
20 



230 



MISSIOIV. 



But no power, similar to hers, exists ; none could be, its 
like manner, applied to effect emancipation in this coun- 
try ; nor, as yet, are the benefits of abolition in the West 
Indies, so clear and impressive, so avowed by the tesii- 

the large amount of capital since invested in this colony ; in- the 
purchase of lands at an amazingly increased value, by resident 
individuals ; in the improvement and increase of buildings for 
social and mercantile uses ; in the erection and enlargement of 
temples for religious worship, and in the improved cultivation 
and greater care and attention paid to the fencing and subdivision 
of land ; and in the greater division of wealth among the working 
people, by which their personal appearance and social habits and 
morals have been improved to a most gratifying, and, considering 
the short space of time, surprising extent." 

We are surprised that Mr. Gurney should be of opinion "that 
nothing would more serve the purpose of good order and tranqui- 
lity, in the colony of Jamaica, than the settlement of a magistracy 
wholly independent of all parties in the island, and paid by the 
home Government." Alluding to the stipendiary magistrates, 
appointed by the Crown, he says : " To remove them from their 
posts, would, in our opinion, be little short of a death blow to the 
peace and liberty of the colonies. We venture, with great defer- 
ence, to express our decided judgment, that their original number 
ought to be filled up, and their office, as local justices of the 
peace, rendered fully efficacious and permanent. These remarks 
are made without any feeling of ill will or prejudice against the 
planters and their agents, localized in Jamaica. We entertain 
warm feelings of regard and friendship towards many of these 
persons ; from all of them, whom we saw and visited, we met 
with unvarying kindness and civility. We give them credit, in 
general, for honorable and benevolent views and feelings. But 
we know the effect on the minds of men, of the circumstances in 
which they are placed, and have watched the silent influence of 
local bias. It is a true, though trite remark, that 'when self the 
wavering balance shakes, 'tis seldom right adjusted;' and hence 
it obviously follows— I am sure the planters will admit it — that in 
him who holds the scales of justice, self ought to have no interest 
whatsoever in the questions to be decided." No American co-uld 



WEST INDIAN EMANCIPATION. 231 

mony of those most aftected by the change, as to put 
beyond question, the wisdom and benevolence of all 
the means and measures by which it was accomplished. 
Though I believe that the present advantages of this ex- 
periment are much less, and the evils much greater, than 
have been represented by its ardent friends, yet of its 
final good, there can be little cause to doubt. Improve- 
ment is the companion of liberty, nor can any free 
people, in this age, and in time of peace, with means of 
education and the light of Christianity, fail to rise in 
condition and in character. But if the citizens of our 
southern States should examine, with humane interest, 
the operations of West India emancipation, the people of 
England should know that so little analogy can be found 
between society as it existed prior to that act in her colo- 
nies, and as it exists in the southern States of this Union, 

have written such a passage ; no free people will ever submit to 
such an arrangement. How would it suit the feelings of Eng- 
lishmen, to have the administration of their laws under the control 
of those, owing them no responsibility, appointed and paid by a 
foreign people : 

With all the injustice which may have attended it, we have 
termed this work of emancipation a noble experiment, regarding 
mainly the humane sentiments which prompted it, and the mighty 
blessings which, we trust, will be secured by it, to a iarge portion 
of the human race. 

Yet the friends of this work in England should reflect on the 
following remarks of the venerable John Q. Adams : 

'' And how was the emancipation of slaves in the British colo- 
nies accomplished? By act of Parliament — an assembly in 
which the colonists had no representation. In direct contradic- 
tion to the principle upon which our revolution was founded. If 
the question had been submitted to the decision of the Legislative 
Assemblies of the colonies themselves, do you imagine that any 
such emancipation would have been effected, even for twice or 
fhrjce the amount of the indemnity allowed by Parliament?" 



232 MISSION. 

that its results, however successful, can shed but a dim 
and uncertain light upon the prospects of our colored 
population. 

In the third place, it may have been thought politic by 
Sir T. F. Buxton and his associates, to avoid that which 
must expose them to the hostility of the Anti-slavery 
organizations of England, as an avowal of confidence in 
the Colonization Society, would inevitably have done. 
The movement of the Civilization Society has doubtless 
already weakened the action of the Anti- slavery party, 
nor have the latter failed to look with distrust upon a 
scheme which, it must be admitted, accords in very 
many of its principles with that so beneficially developed 
in the establishment of Liberia. The desire to retain 
the favor of the Anti-slavery Society, may, more or less, 
bias the judgment of the Committee of the Civilization 
Society. Truth triumphs slowly over prejudice, and the 
voice of interest is often more persuasive than hers. 
Had the Civilization Society publicly and decidedly ap- 
proved of the character and measures of the Coloniza- 
tion Society, I believe that it would have gained, on the 
whole, more than it had lost, and that the effect on the 
mind of both England and America, had been to strengthen 
between them the ties of peace, while unitedly engaged 
in bringing Africa and her enslaved and dispersed children 
to participate in our common laws, civilization, and 
Christianity. 

Fourthly. If the philanthropy of the Civilization Socie- 
ty is not unmixed with the love of glory, and the good 
and great of England, prefer, to that of any other coun- 
try, the honor and renown of England, it will but prove 
human nature to be the same in Great Britain as in 
America, and that imperfection (if indeed it should be 



LOVE OF RENOWN'. 233 

SO called,) belongs to the noblest associations and enter- 
prizes of man. Liberal minds are not yet prepared to 
erase patriotism from the list of the virtues, nor to war 
upon those partial affections which entwine with such 
constancy and strength around the reputation of our 
country. The pride of Englishmen is proverbial, and 
they intend no other people shall excel them in deeds 
which fame shall register. Some fiery particles of this 
ambition, I imagine, blend with the purer sentiments of 
the African Civilization Society. May their exertions 
for Africa excite Americans to holy emulation ; nor may 
either seek other controversies than in regard to methods 
of well-doing, and how, in the shortest time, the richest 
blessings may be imparted to the greatest number of the 
miserable inhabitants of Africa. 

Fifthly. Causes of irritation between the United States 
and Great Britain, tend to diminish the confidence which 
should subsist between the benevolent of both, in their 
humane and religious enterprizes, and to sunder all the 
bonds of union. The losses in England, in consequence 
of the derangement of our currency, and, in too many 
instances, the failure of our credit, have, to a great ex- 
tent, produced aversion to American affairs and American 
character. The evil effects of a non-fulfilment of our 
pecuniary engagements, are universal, and like a lurking 
contagion in the atmosphere, diffusing themselves silent- 
ly, without observation, but with malignant power. 

Finally^ That some change is effected in distinguished 
English minds in favor of the American scheme of African 
colonization, I think certain ; and that the seeds of right 
opinion will grow and become widely disseminated, I 
cannot cease to hope. It were worth the labor of any 
individual, and for the most protracted life, to unite the 
20* 



234 MISSION. 

hearts of American and English philanthropists, even on 
this one subject of Africa. But to render both duly sen- 
sible of the sanctity of those ties which should bind them 
together; of the duties of mutual justice and forbear- 
ance ; of their obligations to seek the things that make 
for peace ; of their responsibilities as Christian nations, 
to the Divine Author of their faith, the r^ighty and uni- 
versal Sovereign — to publish his law, and lift up the 
signals of his mercy in all lands; were an object seldom 
surpassed in magnitude and beneficence. Causes, light 
and trivial in themselves, may confirm peace or lead to 
war. Nations are but congregated individuals, exposed, 
like them, to temptation, ruled by similar motives, and 
agitated by the same passions. They are not less sus- 
ceptible to respect and courtesy than to injustice. The 
wounds of national honor are not soon healed. Confi- 
dence, once weakened, may not for years, if for centuries, 
be repaired. Nations, while the general mind is clear 
and bright with reason and kind afifections, rest, ocean- 
like, in their grandeur; but let this mind be clouded by 
distrust, or inflamed by vindictive passions, the w^ath 
of the tempest, dashing the waves against the heavens, 
inadequately symbolizes their terrible and destructive 
power. 

In this age, can the people of Great Britain and the 
United States, of a common descent, language, manners 
and religion, enriched by the oracles of Divine wisdom, 
and as Christians pledged to promulgate, throughout the 
world, their great doctrines of human responsibility and 
immortality, unmindful of their trust, incensed and im- 
pelled by some infernal spirit of pride and malice, come 
forth from the temples of the Saviour and the sad em- 
blems of his death, madly to war upon each other? 



MEETING IN LONDON. 235 

At such a spectacle, the standard-bearers of civilization 
and Christianity would grow faint ; the friends of God 
and man everywhere, should rend their garments, and, 
with uplifted hands, cry out in one voice against the 
monstrous crime. 

To avert such evil, the citizens of both countries 
should desire to render prevalent correct general impres- 
sions of each other'' s character; for, w^hile these exist 
among the mass of the people, particular causes of irri- 
tation or acts of injustice on either side, will be ascribed 
to human infirmity, and find no soil from which to spring 
up into active and determined hostility. Between nations, 
ignorance is too frequently the parent of suspicion, sus- 
picion of enmity. A war could never arise between the 
English and Americans, were they well acquainted with 
each other. Steam navigation is bringing us together ; we 
shall soon sit down by each other's firesides, feel that we 
are brethren, and leave grim-visaged War to hang up 
his shield, and hold his revels in the halls of Odin. 



I TRUST it will be imputed to no improper motives that I conclude 
this statement with the proceedings of a public meeting, held in 
London, a few days before my departure, at v.hich Robert Gros- 
venor (son of the Marquis of Westminster,) presided, and which 
I addressed in behalf of the general objects of my mission. Under 
the discouraging circumstances in which I found myself in Eng- 
land, I was gratified that individuals, whose opinion is so valua- 
ble as that of those whose names are subscribed to this docu- 
ment, entertained, and were pleased to express, a favorable opinion 
of my conduct. 



236 MISSION. 

"At A Public Meeting held at the Hanover Square Rooms, 
London, on the — day of June, 1841, it was unanimously agreed, 
that the following testimonial, signed on behalf of that meeting, 
should be presented to the Rev. R. R. Gurley, of Washington, U. 
S., as a simple expression of the respect and attachment his cha- 
racter and talents, and his able exertions on his recent mission to 
England, have drawn around him. 

"The undersigned, desiring to testify their sense of the zeal 
and ability with which the Rev. R. R. Gurley, of Washington, 
U. S., has discharged the arduous and important mission in which 
he has been recently engaged in this country, have much pleasure 
in subscribing the following statement : 

"The Rev. R. R. Gurley, for many years secretary to the Ame- 
rican Colonization Society, came to England in , 1840, for 

the purpose of endeavoring to obtain, on behalf of that Society, 
the sympathies and co-operation of the friends and advocates of 
African Civilization in Great Britain. The subject has already 
been taken up by many influential individuals, through ihe exer- 
tions of Sir Fowell Buxton ; and it was believed in America, that 
there was a great similarity not only in their contemplated design, 
but in their proposed means of carrying it into effect. 

" Under such circumstances, and with such prospects of accom- 
plishing a great good by a union of strength, collision and inter- 
ference were as much to be deprecated, as co-operation was to be 
desired. The object, therefore, of the Rev, R. R. Gurley was, not to 
seek the assistance of this country in away that might embarrass 
the progress of British philanthropy through its own channels, 
either in a pecuniary or moral point of view ; but on the contrary, 
by offering mutual and equivalent advantages to ensure to each side 
all the practical benefits and direct encouragement which could 
be derived from the example and labor of the other. Unhappily 
several circumstances combined to thwart the Rev.R. R. Gurley in 
his indefatigable efforts to conduct his mission to this very desirable 
conclusion. In the first place, at the time of his arrival in Eng- 
land, the individuals with whom it v\'as necessary for him to meet 
and confer were scattered over different paiis of the country, there 
being only a particular season of the year when the members of 
public Societies are gathered together in London. In the next 
place, after developing his plans and laying the foundations for his 
future movements, it was discovered that there existed certain 



MEETING IN LONDON 237 

differences between the objects of the two Societies, or, if not 
between the ultimate objects, at least between the modes of carrying 
them out ; which differences were regarded by the principal per- 
sons connected with the British Society to be great and insurmoun- 
table. And, in the third place, and above all, it was found that 
the feelings entertained in this countiy towards the Society of 
which the Rev. R. R. Gurley was the representative, were of a 
kind to render the desired co-operation, not only a matter of extra- 
ordinary difficulty, but, in the present state of public opinion, 
respecting the civilization of Africa, absolutely hopeless and im- 
practicable. This last circumstance would have been alone suffi- 
cient to have frustrated the efforts of any individual appointed by 
that Society at any time, to explain its views in England, but occur- 
ring at a time when other plans were actually in progress for the 
benefit of Africa, it presented obstacles to the desired union of the 
English and American Societies which time alone can effectually 
remove. 

" Placed in these novel and painful circumstances, the Rev. R. 
R, Gurley never forgot the high trust that was reposed in his 
hands. Where some men would have abandoned the undertaking 
in despair, or, risked its future success by the indiscretions of a 
hasty zeal, he pursued his objects with a calm and patient persever- 
ance that won the personal esteem even of many who still con- 
tinued adverse to the principles of the Colonization Society. 
During the period of his residence in England, he has been assidu- 
ously occupied in diffusing information through all accessible 
channels of publicity, regarding the plans and ■ proceedings of 
his constituents in America. And it may be confidently asserted, 
that while his statements deeply interested all who were fortunate 
enough to have the advantage of hearing them, they brought convic- 
tion to the minds of some who had previously been either doubtful 
or opposed. 

" Having thus displayed a temper at once firm and conciliatory, 
and great energy, perseverance, and eloquence, in the midst of 
the most trying difficulties, it is the anxious desire of the under- 
signed that the Rev. R. R. Gurley on returning to America should 
take with him some evidence for his own satisfaction, and that of 
his friends, that, although his visit to England has not been 
followed by the results he hoped for, yet that the duty he undertook 
was discharged with an ability and earnestness commensurate to the 



238 



MISSION. 



magnitude of the objects it embraced. That the inadequate issue 
of his labors was to be attributed, not to any want of zeal or intel- 
lectual power on his part, but partly to the inherent difficulties of 
the task itself, and partly to obstacles of a temporary character, 
which no zeal or power could at present overcome. That not- 
withstanding the impediments he encountered, he had conciliated 
a large portion of respect and attachment for himself and his con- 
stituents, and that it might be finally stated with confidence, that 
his mission had been of very considerable moral value as a success- 
ful means of removing much prejudice and of promoting that good 
feeling and cordial friendship which should always exist between 
the philanthropists of Great Britain and America." 



Thomas Campbell, L. L. D. 

G. Tradescant Lay. 

Julian R. Jackson. 

R. Sutherland. 

J. Shillinglaw. 

Chevalier Dillon, M. L. H. 

John She eh an. 

H. W. Masterson. 

M. M'Dermott. 

V. B. Brearey. 

A.B.Wright. 

James Blair. 

C. Lister. 

Henry May. 

W. D. Maillard. 

L. Costello. 

Joseph Adams. 

■ Dillon. 

J. Blair. 

M. Cooper Vanderhorst. 



Thomas Hodgkin, M. D. 

Petty Vaughan. 

Robert Bell. 

Joseph Travers. 

Wm. B. Costello, M. D. 

Frederick Maitland Innes. 

Daniel Joseph Carroll, M. D. 

Daniel Lister. 

Richard Vine. 

Edmund Tuke. 

John Wright. 

Junius Smith, L.L.D. 

Andrew Wright. 

Richard King. 

E. Hogg. 

M. Story. 

B. Clark. 

John Harris. 

John S. Lillie. 

John E. Jones. 



APPENDIX A. 



FACTS. 

Bv the original constitution of the American Colonization 
Society, an annual contribution of one dollar, secured to an indi- 
vidual the privileges of membership, and of not less than thirty dol- 
lars, at one time, of membership for life. Those members elected 
annually the officers, viz : a President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, 
Treasurer, and Recorder, and a Board of Managers, composed of 
the above named officers and twelve other members of the Society. 
The Board of Managers conducted the business and made annual 
report of their proceedings to the Society, 

The writer received an appointment as agent for the Society in 
1822, Elias B. Caldwell, Esq., (clerk of the Supreme Court of the 
United States,) being at that time Secretary. He was occupied 
mostly in efforts for the Society, (principally as resident Agent at 
Washington, in consequence of the ill health and arduous profes- 
sional duties of Mr. Caldwell,) until the decease of that gentleman 
in 1825, after which he was elected Secretary. Having commenced 
the publication of the African Repository in 1825, the duty of 
conducting the editorial department of this work ; the entire corres- 
pondence of the Society ; the principal arrangement of business 
for the consideration of the Managers, and the execution of most 
of the acts and resolutions, up to the middle of the year 1833, 
devolved almost exclusively upon him. At the anniversary of the 
Society in 1833, the writer submitted the form of a new Constitu- 
tion for the Association to the consideration of the meeting. 

At the Annual meeting in January, 1834, a Committee was 
appointed to take into view the re-organization of the Society. 
This Committee reported a new Constitution, which was adopted. 
According to this instrument, every citizen of the United States 
who should contribute thirty dollars to the Society was to be a 
Life Member, and the privilege of voting at the election of officers 
was to be limited to Life Members and the Delegates from Auxili- 
aries, each having the right to send five, and the Board of Mana- 



240 MISSION. 

gers of the Society were to be composed of the Secretaries, the 
Treasurer, the Recorder, and nine other members of the Society. An 
additional Secretary chosen at this meeting declined the appoint- 
ment. It was decided that the Treasurer and Recorder should 
receive salaries, it being understood that the former would devote 
his whole time, the latter a large portion of his, to the interests of 
the Society. Several gentlemen who had not before been con- 
nected with the affairs of the Society were appointed on the list of 
Managers. An earnest (but as has been seen imsuccessful) attempt 
was made at this time to exclude the Secretaries, Treasurer and 
Recorder of the Society from the Board of Managers, and to render 
their appointment and duties wholly dependent upon the will of 
that Board. 

During the preceding year the State Colonization Society of 
Maryland had determined to found a Colony at Cape Palmas, to be 
aided by the appropriations of the Legislature of the State, and 
by other donations, and to be exclusively under the control of that 
Society. 

It was expected that the changes in the Constitution and manage- 
ment of the parent Society, which were produced in great part by 

the votes of gentlemen from the North, would unite the Associa- 
tions they represented, more closely, in spirit and action to that 

Institution. 

Unfortunately for the resources of the latter, the Pennsylvania 
Society proceeded forthvi'ith to found a settlement atBassa Cove, and 

the New York City Society soon after entered into combination with 

that of Pennsylvania, ioY the furtherance of the same enterprize. 
In 1837 the Societies of Mississippi and Louisiana proceeded to 

expend their funds in purchasing a tract of country, and planting a 

settlement at the mouth of the Sinou river. 

Whatever may have been the effect upon the general cause, it is 

evident that the funds were diverted by these operations from the 

Treasury of the parent Society. 
As tvi^o other gentlemen were now associated with him in the 

ofrice of the Society, the writer was requested to visit various parts 

of the Union to enforce the object and raise funds for the cause. 

Of course from the time of this organization up to that which 

occurred in December, 1838, the writer was absent much from the 

sessions and deliberations of the Managers. 
At the Annual meeting in December, 1837, the following pre- 



APPENDIX. 241 

amble and resolutions were offered by the writer to the considera- 
tion of the Society : 

" Inasmuch as this Society has, for years past, been suffering 
under pecuniary embarrassments, and as, from various causes, 
(among which the partially separate operations of some Auxiliary 
Societies, and the entirely independent action of the Maryland 
State Society, and the recently disturbed and distressed state of 
the pecuniary affairs of the country, must be deemed prominent,) 
these embarrassments are very slowly, if at all diminishing, the 
Society are convinced that measures must be devised and executed 
to augment, very materially, the resources of the Society, or that 
its operations must be exceedingly irregular and inefficient, if not, 
in a short time, altogether suspended. Donations to this Institu- 
tion can be expected only from those who are informed of its prin- 
ciples and proceedings, and who feel an interest in its success. 
The first thing to be done, then, in order to secure relief from pecu- 
niary embarrassment, must obviously be, to diffuse extensively a 
knowledge of the views and prospects and condition of the Society^ 
and by arguments and appeals awaken public interest in its behalf. 
This can be effected only by the Press, by Agents, or by both. 
And if the Society possesses no adequate means of increasing its 
publications and agencies, it must proceed upon the presumption 
that such publications and agencies will sustain themselves, or 
entirely abandon the cause. 

" It is well known that the most distinguished friends of the 
Society have, from its origin, regarded its exertions as rather ex- 
perimental and preliminary than as sufficient and final ; and have 
expected that the great scheme of the Societ)% shown to be prac- 
ticable by private charity, would be conducted forward to those 
vast and beneficent results which it was designed to embrace, by 
the united treasure and power of the States and General Govern- 
ment. It is clear that neither the States nor General Government 
will apply their means to aid this scheme, until public opinion 
shall sanction such applicatio n, and that efforts are indispensable 
to commend the cause of African colonization to the regard of 
the American people, before their opinion will ever be expressed 
in favor of such application. Should this Society neglect to put 
forth these efforts, to what other means can we look to enlighten 
and form public opinion on this subject? 

"1. Therefore, Resolved, That this Society will encourage the 
21 



242 MISSION, 

establishment in this District of a weekly newspaper, to be devoted 
in part to the cause of African Colonization, and that it be recom- 
mended to the friends of the Society throughout the Union, to 
extend their patronage to such paper, as well as to do all in their 
power to increase the circulation of the African Repository. 

" 2. Resolved, That it is expedient to employ at the earliest 
possible period at least twenty able and discreet agents, to explain 
publicly the views, and enforce the claims of this Society, as also 
to receive donations for its objects; and that the friends of the 
Society, throughout the country, be invited to give information to 
the Board of Managers, of gentlemen known to them as prepared 
and inclined to engage in agencies for this Society. 

*' 3. Resolved, That a memorial be prepared, addressed to the 
Congress of the United States, praying that an expedition may be 
fitted out, in which commissioners of this Society may be per- 
mitted to embark, to explore the western coast of Africa, to ascer- 
tain the situations most desirable for colonies ; to aid said com- 
missioners in negotiations for such regions of the coast as may be 
most advantageous for purposes of colonization ; and also, praying 
said body to grant such other aid to this Society as in their wisdom 
they may deem expedient ; that said memorial be printed in the 
Repository, and that the friends of the Society, throughout the 
Union, be requested to obtain signatures to this memorial, and 
forward the same to the Congress of the United States. 

" 4. Resolved, That, in the judgment of this Board, the best 
reasons exist why all the friends of the Society should press forward 
in their great work with vigor and hope, not permitting ocasional 
calamities or pecuniary embarrassments to weaken their resolution 
or activity. . 

" 5. Resolved, That should other countries than Africa, without 
the limits of the United States, invite the colonization of our free 
colored population, the subject of extending the constitutional 
right of the Society to plant colonies in those countries, merits the 
consideration of the Society." 

" It was, on motion, agreed to take the question on the preamble 
and the several resolutions, separately. The question was accord- 
ingly so put, except on the fifth resolution, which was withdrawn 
by the mover. The preamble, the first and second resolutions, 
were carried. The third resolution was lost. The fourth resolu- 
tion was carried." 



APPENDIX. 



243 



Under the authority and recommendation of the Society, the 
writer eng-aged in conducting the " Christian Statesman," which re- 
ceived a liberal patronage, and, for a season, promised to become 
permanently established. In the course of the year, the present 
Chairman of the Executive Committee proposed to devote his 
time and labors gratuitously to the Society, and the writer, much 
impressed with the liberality of the offer, welcomed him to the 
field of labor, and moved his appointment with extraordinary 
powers, as General Agent of the Society, to raise funds, and pro- 
mote, by other means, its interests, under the instructions of the 
Managers. The motion was adopted, and the writer took pleasure 
in speaking both in private and public of the disinterestedness, 
energy, and zeal of that individual. 

At the annual meeting in December, 1S38, the constitution of 
the Society was very materially altered, the following being the 
fourth and fifth articles, which embody the most important modi- 
fications : 

" 4th. There shall be a Board of Directors, composed of delegates 
from the several State Societies, and Societies for the District of Co- 
lumbia, and the Territories of the United States. Each Society con- 
tributing not less than one thousand dollars annually into the com- 
mon treasury, shall be entitled to two delegates ; each Society 
having under its care a colony, shall be entitled to three delegates ; 
and any two or more Societies uniting in the support of a colony, 
composing at least three hundred souls, to three delegates each. 
Any individual contributing one thousand dollars to the Society, 
shall be a Director for life. 

" 5th. The Society and the Board of Directors shall meet an- 
nually at Washington, on the third Tuesday in January, and at 
such other times and places as they shall direct. The Board shall 
have power to organize and administer a General Government for 
the several colonies in Liberia ; to provide a uniform code of laws 
for such colonies, and manage the general affairs of colonization 
throughout the United States, except within the States which 
planted colonies. They shall also appoint annually the Executive 
Committee of five, with such officers as they deem necessary, tt>Ao 
shall be ex-qfficio members of the Executive Committee and Board 
of Directors, but in the latter case shall have a right to speak, but 
not to vote. The said Board of Directors shall desinrnate the sala- 



244 MISSION. 

ries of the officers, and adopt such plans as they may deem expe- 
dient for the promotion of the colonization cause. It shall be their 
duty to provide for the fulfilment of all existing obligations of the 
American Colonization Society, and nothing in the following arti- 
cle of these amendments, shall limit or restrain their power to 
make such provision by an equitable assessment upon the several 
Societies." 

It deserves notice, that the Board of Directors, entitled to vote 
under this new and present organization, consisted of e/ei'c?i mem- 
bers, only three of whom had ever been members of the former 
Board of Managers, 

The writer was chosen Corresponding Secretary of the Society; 
but, on motion of it was 

" Resolved, That it be a condition of the appointment of Mr. 
Gurley to the office of Corresponding Secretary, that he devote 
his time exclusively to the duties required from him in that office." 

The only color for what the writer deemed an implied censure 
in this resolution, was in the fact that a portion of his time had 
been, during the preceding year, devoted to the " Christian States- 
man," a paper commenced with a view principally of advancing the 
interests of the Society, from which he had derived no pecuniary 
advantage, and in giving aid to which he viewed himself as having, 
if not the express, the implied, sanction of the Society. 

This resolution was rescinded the next day, and the following, 
on motion of Dr. Bethune, adopted : 

"Resolved, That, as in the opinion of this Board, it will be in 
a high degree necessary for Mr. Gurley to devote a considerable 
portion of his time to travelling, his salary be increased to two 
thousand dollars for the present year." 

The writer at this time expressed his views freely to various 
members of the Board of Directors, and especially to the present 
chairman of the Executive Committee, in regard to the organiza- 
tion and policy of the Society. He desired that no misapprehen- 
sions should exist touching his opinions on these subjects. All 
appeared to concur in the idea that the Christian Statesman and 
African Repository should be sustained, and that after a temporary 
absence for a few months in the western and south-western States, 
he (the writer) should return to conduct the correspondence and 
discharge the editorial duties connected with his office. 



APPENDIX. 245 

He therefore made the best arrangement in his power for secur- 
ing an editorial supervision of the Statesman, and departed to visit 
the western and south-western States. 

At the next meeting of the Directors, 27th Feb., 1839, six mem- 
bers entitled to vote, being present, the following resolution was 
adopted : 

"Resolved, That every officer and agent of the American Colo- 
nization Society, appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be 
subject to the direction of the Executive Committee ; and the pay 
of any such officer or agent, who shall neglect or refuse to comply 
with the instructions given by said Committee, shall cease." 

During the eight months of the writer's absence, he was not in- 
formed of the passage of this resolution. It seemed to indicate 
apprehensions of a lawless spirit, if not of actual disobedience. 

Of the course of the Chairman of the Committee towards the 
writer during this protracted time, nothing more need be said, than 
that it was entirely consistent with the opinion avowed by that in- 
dividual, distinctly, for the first time soon after his (the writer's) 
return, that one person, and that the Chairman, could effectually 
discharge the duties in the office of the Society, and that it would 
be expedient for the Secretary to occupy a station in some one of 
our principal cities. The opposite opinion of the writer was 
promptly and emphatically avowed. 

Though the writer's health had been impaired by exposure, in 
summer and autumn, to causes of disease along the rivers of the 
west, he complied with an urgent request to visit Philadelphia and 
New York, to promote the interests of the Society ; and w'hile in 
the former city, was informed, that the duty of drawing up the 
report to the general meeting, a duty discharged by him annually, 
(except in three cases, when it was performed by his able coadju- 
tor, Mr. Fendall,) ever since his connection with the Society, 
would be assumed by the Chairman and the Committee, and that 
the public meeting which it had been usual to hold in the Capitol, 
on this anniversary occasion, might probably be dispensed with. 
Owing to his engagements for the cause in New York, a severe 
cold, and the remarkable course which had been adopted in rela- 
tion to this meeting, the writer was not present, but he was soon 
favored with a copy of the following resolutions, adopted by the 
Directors : 

«' Resolved, That the Rev. R. R. Gurley be, and be is, hereby con- 
21* •" 



246 MISSION. 

tinued as Corresponding Secretary, and that for the present year, 
he be absolved from office duties, and act as a travelling agent, 
according to the resolution heretofore passed on that subject, dated 
27th February, 1839. 

"Resolved^ That the salary of Mr. Gurley be one thousand dol- 
lars per annum, with the liberty of increasing it to two thousand 
dollars, out of a per centage of twenty per centum of his collec- 
tions paid over to the Society. Or, if he shall prefer the same, 
that his salary be fifteen hundred dollars per annum,* exclusive of 
liis travelling expenses ; said salary to be paid at the end of each 
quarter of the year." 

The number of Directors present and entitled to vote, appears 
to have been eleven, and iJu-ec of them present for the first time. 

It is stated in the minutes, that " The Board having received 
satisfactory evidence that the Philadelphia Society had given the 
notice required by the constitution, on the subject of ameyidments to the 
same, a committee, (consisting of Mr. Underioood and Mr. Cresson,) 
was appointed on amendments to the constitutio7i ; " and, further, that 
Mr. Underwood, from said committee, moved, among other resolu- 
tions, the following, which was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, That the constitution of this Society shall be, and the 
same is hereby, amended in the fifth article, by striking out the 
whole of the third sentence, in the words following : ' They, (the 
Board of Directors,) shall also appoint, annually, the Exeaitive 
Committee of five, with such officers as they may deem necessary, who 
shall be ]ex-officio members of the Executive Committee and Board 

*The writer's salary when an agent, had been $600, afterwards ,*1000; and 
when elected Secretary, this sum was raised first to ,f 1250, then to i|1500. The 
preceding year only, during an extended tour, was it ^000. 

f I have looked into the reports of various benevolent societies in this country 
and England, to ascertain to what extent the practice exists, of constituting Secre- 
taries and other officers, ex-officio members of the Managers or Executive Com- 
mittees. The following shows the result. Where the Secretaries and other offi- 
cers are ex-officio members of the Managers or Executive Committee, we have 
marked it affirmatively. Ex-officio Members. 

American Home Missionary Society, , _ _ - Aye. 

American Seamen's Friend Society, ----- Aye. 

American Sunday School Union, - - , - - Aye. 

Board of Missions of Episcopal Church, _ - . - Aye. 

American Bible Society, ------ Aye. 

General Assembly, Board of Missions, no constitutional provision on the 
subject, but elected memhers every year. 



APPENDIX. 247 

of Directors, but in the latter case shall have the right to speak, 
but not to vote,' and insert in lieu thereof, the following : ' They 
(the Board of Directors,) shall also appoint, annually, the Executive 
Committee, to consist of seven, with such other officers as they may 
deem necessary. Four of the members of the Executive Committee 

In the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the Sec- 
retaries are elected corporate members of the Board, where they have 
the right both to speak and vote, and may or may not be members of 
the Prudential Committee, at the will of the Board.* 
English Societies. 
London Missionary Society, ----__ Aye. 

Church Missionary Society, , _ _ _ _ Aye. 

Protestant Association, ------- ^ye. 

Christian Tract Society, __--__ j^yg^ 

Irish Society of London, ----__ A.ye. 

Newfoundland and British North American Society for 

Educating the Poor, ---__. j^yg. 

Prayer Book and Homily Society, - - - _ _ _A.ye. 

Royal Naval Female School Society, - - - . Aye. 

Religious Tract Society, ---_-_ Ave. 

Home Missionary Society, -----_ Aye. 

[ " Also, the Secretaries of all the Associations co-operating with this So- 
ciety, shall be &x-officio members of its Board of Directors, entitled to 
attend and vote at all their meetings."] 
Unitarian Bible Society, ----__ j^yg^ 

The Society for promoting a due observance of the Lord^s 

Day, ------__ ^yg_ 

Church Protestant Aid Society, - - _ _ _ ^y^^ 

European Missionary Society, - - - , _ _^yg^ 

London City Mission Society, -----_ j^yg, 

British and Foreign Bible Society, ----- ^ye. 

London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, - - Aye. 

British and Foreign Mission, not stated, but recommend the following as part of 
the constitution of all Auxiliaries: " The general business of the Society shall be 
conducted by a Board of Managers, consisting of a Treasurer, one or more Secre- 
taries, and six or more Superintendents of Districts." 

Lonon Association in aid of the Missions of the United Brethren, not stated, 
but recommended to all Auxiliaries the following as part of their constitution : — 
" That this Association (or Committee) consist of a President (or Chairman) 
Treasurer, Secretary or Secretaries, and a Committee," &c. 

* The following is a note, published in connection with the minutes of the nine- 
teenth annual meeting of the American Board, October, 1828, the late lamented 
Jeremiah Evarts being then Secretary: 

" To the office of Secretary belong the following duties : 

" i. The general correspondence of the Board, both foreign and domestic; 



248 ^ MISSION. 

shall constitute a quorum for business. The officers of the Society 
shall be ex-officio members of the Board of Directors, and shall have 
the right to sr xk, but not to vote." 

It appears extraordinary, if not unprecedented, that the Phila- 
delphia State Society should have transmitted a proposition thus 
to modify the constitution, three months immediately before the an- 
nual meeting, to each of the other State Societies, and that an offi- 
cer of the Parent Society, who had been for weeks before this meet- 
ing intimately associated with the friends of the cause in Philadel- 
phia, New York, and other places, and whose relations to the Soci- 
ety, of long standing, were to be vitally affected by it, was left in 
total ignorance that any such change was contemplated by a soli- 
tary individual. 

The minutes of this same annual meeting contain the following 

*' 2. The editing of the Missionarj Herald ; 

"3. The writing of the annual report — of appeals to the Christian community 
— of instructions to missionaries, and other public documents ; 

" 4. The preparation of the missionary papers for distribution among the Auxi- 
liaries and the friends of the cause generally ; 

'• 5. The procuring and direction of agents to visit Associations and Auxiliaries, 
and establish nev/ ones, in different parts of the country, and to extend the circu- 
lation of the Missionary Herald ; 

" 6. The procuring of deputations for the annual meetings of Auxiliary Socie- 
ties ; and an occasional attendance at these meetings ; 

" 8. A very responsible agency in the selection and destination of missionaries ; 

" 9. The preparation of business for the meetings of the Prudential Committee ; 

" 10. The general superintendence of all the missions of the Board ; 

"11. Visits to diflerent parts of the country, on business appertaining to th' 
Board and the missions under its care. 

" 12. Visits of inspection to the missions, particularly those among the Indians. 
It is desirable that such visitations be made, if possible, by some one who is tho- 
roughly conversant with the views and plans of the Prudential Committee ; and — 

" 13. Intercourse with the friends of missions from different parts of the coun- 
try, who call at the missionary rooms. 

"In a word, the Secretary must have a superintendence of the entire concern, 
in its several departments, and in its diversified operations ; must carry the whole 
continually in his mind and upon his heart ; must keep himself informed of every 
tiling pertaining to it; must know Avhat has been done, what must be done, and, as 
far as possible, whai can be done ; must devise plans, measures, and means, and 
communicate, as occasions require, to all concerned ; and, with unremitting vigi- 
lance, must endeavor to give impulse and direction to every part of a great system, 
designed to convey the blessings of salvation to thousands now ready to perish, and 
to millions yet unborn." 



APPENDIX. 249 

record: "The Board proceeded to the election of the Executive 
Committee, S. Wilkeson was appointed a member thereof, under 
the style and title of President of the Board of Directors, and Chair- 
man of the Executive Committee. Messrs. W. W. Seaton, M. St. 
Clair Clarke, Henry L. Ellsworth, Hudson M. Garland, Richard 
S. Coxe, and Dr. Harvey Lindsly, were appointed the remaining 
members." 

On the receipt of the resolutions of his appointment, and while 
yet ignorant of the amendment of the constitution relating to its 
fifth article, the writer addressed a letter to the Executive Com- 
mittee, protesting against the resolutions, as injurious to the Soci- 
ety and himself, and reviewing briefly the history of his connec- 
tion with that Society. 

After ascertaining that, by tiie amendment to the constitution, 
the office of Secretary gave no longer a right to a seat in the Exe- 
cutive Committee, and that by no act of the Directors was he 
appointed on that Committee, the writer addressed to the Presi- 
dent of the Society the following letter of resignation : 

" Washington, 3Iarch 6, lS-10. 
"To THE Hon. Henry Clay, 

" President of the American Colonization Society: 

" Sir: I have the honor to tender to you, and through you, to 
the Board of Directors of the American Colonization Society, the 
resignation of ray office as Secretary of that institution. 

" Having been called into the service of the Society, during the 
enthusiasm of my youth, for nearly twenty years the best powers 
of my mind have been devoted to its interests, with what ability, 
what success, my countrymen, the citizens of Liberia, and the 
impartial historian of the Society and its colony, must decide. 
Regarding the love of approbation as a motive, if worthy at all, 
so only in subordination to the sense of duty, I cheerfully leave 
my reputation to truth, to time, and to God. 

" I deem it proper to state to the friends of African colonization 

throughout this Union, that my attachment to the scheme of the 

Society is unabated, and my confidence in its success under a 

"judicious organization and wise administration of its concerns, 

entire. 

" The office which I have so long had the honor to hold, and to 
which was assigned, almost exclusively, for many years, the ex- 



250 MISSION. 

ecution of all measures of the managers, having, (in my absence, 
and without any notice to myself of such a purpose, but on the 
contrary, with an understanding, for the best reasons, on my part, 
til at my relations to the Society should remain undisturbed,) 
through erroneous representations, and particularly by the position 
assumed by the general Agent, that he would share, on equal 
terms, the duties and responsibilities of the office with no other 
person, been divested by a recent vote of the Directors, (some 
eight or ten gentlemen of high character, but little acquainted 
with the details of the past management of the institution,) of its 
principal importance, of all place in its Executive counsels and 
direction ; I deem it alike due to the cause, my office, and myself, 
to retire from a station deprived of its chief attractions for a 
benevolent and honorable mind. Different individuals may enter- 
tain different opinions of what is right and expedient in human 
conduct, and it is only for me to say, that the facts here stated are 
reasons sufficient and satisfactory to my own mind, for my resig- 
nation. 

" Having had no share in the preparation of the recent Annual 
Report of the General Agent and Executive Committee, nor oppor- 
tunity to peruse it entire, until after it came from the press, I hold 
myself in no degree responsible for its literary character, the 
soundness of its views, or the correctness of its statements. 

" To the cause of this Society, my heart is bound by the ties 
of early and long tried affection. I watched over its infancy, have 
stood by it in dark and stormy hours, and witnessed with emotions 
of deepest joy, its growth, strength, and rising grandeur. About 
to leave it, probably forever, the forms of the Fathers of the 
Society, with whom I had the happiness to be early associated, men 
of truth, justice, of magnaminity and holy honor — a Washington, 
Marshall, Madison, Crawford, Caldwell, Fitzhugh, 
Thornton, Balch, Wilmer, Lear, Randall, Ashmun, no 
longer of this living world, — and those united with them in coun- 
sels and labors, still spared to their country, (how gladly, would 
decorum permit, should I here record their names,) seem to rise 
before me, claiming at least, iny humble tribute of praise. 
" To men more pure, faithful, disinterested, of integrity more stern, 
of more well regulated but ardent zeal, of more sober and sagacious 
counsels, and with purposes of a loftier and more resolute philan- 
thropy, were the interests of no cause ever entrusted. They com- 



ArPENDIX, 251 

menced their enterprize without resources, unsustained by general 
opinion, and opposed by forces arrayed on opposite grounds, and 
in different and opposite sections of the country, with a strength 
which only minds firm and fearless as theirs, could have hoped to 
defeat. Their plan was to restore a degraded people, long exiled 
from their mother country to their own distant and barbarous shore, 
and there elevate them to a national existence, informed and dig- 
nified with the spirit of law, literature, liberty and Christianity ; 
that, by their example and achievements, the light of a new day 
might dawn upon Africa, and the day-star arise in her heart. 
Difficult in its nature ; remote in the place of its more important 
developments and results, and in the time for its consummation, 
necessarily exposed to occasional disasters, by the wisdom of their 
measures, an ever wakeful attention, by years of uncompensated 
and anxious effort and rare energy, they demonstrated the practi- 
cableness and utility of their scheme, and won a renown among 
the founders of States, which neither envy nor time can darken or 
impair. To say they were not exempt from liability to error, 
is but to say they were men ; to admit that some errors were 
committed in the early management of one of the most difficult 
enterprizes of the age, is but an acknowledgment that ability is 
acquired by exertion, and wisdom from experience. 

" An exposition of the past proceedings or present state of the 
Society, I regard as not pertinent to the present occasion, I will 
take the liberty only to express a decided opinion, that no greater 
injustice could well be done, than to attribute the debt in which 
the Society became involved, near the commencement of the year 
1834, to want of economy, financial ability, or sagacity on the part 
of the Managers. And further, I may be permitted to say, that 
sensible as I am of the imperfections of our nature, and more 
deeply of my own, I can recollect hardly one important measure 
of the Managers, and no one course of settled policy adopted by 
them, while I remained in the discharge of the appropriate duties 
of my office, which I am not prepared to defend before the impar- 
tial tribunal of the public mind. That errors may have occurred 
is probable ; that they were frequent and great, such as should have 
produced distrust or destroyed confidence, is an opinion totally 
destitute of evidence for its support. 

" I have not a thought of abandoning the cause of this Society. 
If there are defects in its organization, they may be supplied; if 



252 MISSION. 

errors in its management, they may be corrected. The Executive 
Committee (most of them gentlemen recently appointed,) possess 
ability and energy, and should they assume their rightful control 
over its measures and operations, may give it strong claims to the 
generous support of the people of the United States. 

"In conclusion, I must be permitted to express to you, sir, the 
sense which I, in common with all the friends of the Society, must 
ever cherish, of your early, great, and successful endeavors to 
recommend its plan to all the States of this Union. Nothing among 
the acts of your public life, devoted to the cause of patriotism and 
general liberty, will afford in remembrance more pleasure at its 
close, (far distant be that hour,) nothing secure to you a higher 
place in the affections of posterity ; and in two quarters of the 
globe, a brighter and more enduring fame. 
" I have the honor to be, sir, 

'•' With the highest respect, 

" Your friend and ob't. serv't., 

"R. R. GURLEY." 

After this letter w'as transmitted to the President of the Society, 
the writer received the following preamble and resolution from the 
Committee : 

" Colonization Rooms, 

•' Washington, April 13, 1840.. 
" At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the American 
Colonization Society, held on the 11th instant, the following pre- 
amble and resolution were presented and passed unanimously : 

*' The Executive Committee of the American Colonization Soci- 
ety, entertaining a high sense of the value of the services of the 
Rev. R. R. Gurley to said Society, with which he has so long been 
connected, therefore, 

''Resolved, That the Rev. R. R. Gurley be requested to with- 
draw his letter dated the 5th of February, 1840, declining to accept 
his appointment as Secretary of the American Colonization Soci- 
ety, made by the Board of Directors at their meeting in January 
last, and that he continue his services to said Society. 

"S. WILKESON, 
" Chairman of the Executive Committee, A. C. S." 



** APPENDIX. 253 

Those who from a friendly interest in the affairs of the Society- 
had conferred with the Committee, gave the writer to understand, 
that these resolutions were passed under an impression that if 
promptly and favorably met, all matters of difficulty would be sa- 
tisfactorily adjusted at the next annual meeting of the Directors. 
With this expectation I signified my readiness to withdraw my 
letter of resignation in the following note : 

"Washington, Jpril 14, 1841. 
''To the Executive Committee of the Am. Col. Society : 

" Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your resolution of the 11th instant, requesting me to withdraw 
my letter declining the appointment conferred on me by the Direc- 
tors of the American Colonization Society, at their late annual 
meeting, and continue my services as Secretary to that institution. 
" In compliance with this request, and with an unabated desire 
to promote the cause of the Society, I hereby withdraw the letter 
referred to, as alsa my letter of resignation addressed to the Pre- 
sident of the Society. 

" Very sensible of the kindness with which you are pleased to 
allude to my past services, and with the greatest respect, 
"I remain, gentlemen, &c., 

"R. R. GURLEY." 
Subsequently to the date of this letter, the writer was appointed 
to proceed on the mission to England, and the manner in which 
the duties of that mission were discharged is stated in the preced- 
ing pages. 

At the annual meeting in January, there appear to have been pre- 
sent ten Directors entitled to vote, three of them for the first time. 
The following clauses were added to the fifth article of the con- 
stitution of the Society : " Whenever a meeting of the Board of 
Directors shallhe regularly called, and there are not wt least six mem- 
bers in attendance, in such case five members of the Executive Com- 
mittee, the Chairman being one, with such Directors, notless thantioo, 
as may be present, shall constitute a Board, and have competent au- 
thority to transact any business of the Society : Provided, hoivever, 
the Board so constituted, shall carry no question, unless the vote be 
unanimous. Any two members of the Executive Committee, with the 
Chairman, shall form a quorum for the transaction of ordinary busi- 
ness ; but all appropriations of money, or measures involving the 
expenditure of funds, other than for the patjment of debts previously 
22 



254 Missio?f. 

contracted bff order of the Executive Committee, shall be appraved by 
at least four members of the Executive Comnniitee.''' 

At the meeting of the Directors on the 11th of December, 1840, 
on motion of Dr. Reese, it was 

" Resolved, That Samuel Wilkeson be constituted a Life Mem- 
ber and Director of this Board."* 

At the annual meeting a few days after, (22d January, 1841,) 
" the Board proceeded to the election of officers : — S. Wilkeson 
was appointed as a member of the Executive CormmiXe.Q under the 
style ^ and title of President of the Board of Directors and Chairman 
of the Executive Committee. Messrs. W. W. Seaton, M. St Clair 
Clarke, H. L. Ellsworth, Hudson. M. Garland, Richard L. Coxe, 
and Dr. H. Lindsly, were appointed the remaining members. 

On motion of the Rev. J. B. Pinney, 

" Resolved, That the Rev. Jno. Breckenridge, D. D., be appointed 
Secretary of the American Colonization Society, under the regula- 
tions and instructions adopted the last year in relation to that office." 

That able, high-minded, and much lamented man, promptly 
declined this appointment, in a very pertinent, expressive note, 
which we hope will be published. 

The preceding statement of facts will enable the public to judge 
whether the writer could, with proper regard to his own reputa- 
tion, or to the character of the office he had so long held, have deci- 
ded upon any other course than that which he adopted. He is far 
from the desire to impeach the motives or conduct of others, yet 
a reflecting public will naturally inquire into the cause which 
induced the Board of Directors first to war upon his office, and 
and next to elect thereto another individual. That the members 
of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee, are, 
generally, gentlemen of honest purposes, I will not permit myself 
to doubt. Most of them, however, have been recently elected 
to their places, and it may be presumed, are very imperfectly in- 
formed of the past management, and the various details of the 
history of the institution. I believe them tohave acted under erro- 
neous impressions on many points. This may not be the time or 
place to correct all the errors which have been published in regard 
to the bad management of the Society, and the well nigh ruined 
condition of its affairs, when the Board of Directors were in 
December entrusted with the management of its concerns. The 

* The rule of the constitution is " any individual contributing one tliousand dollai-3 
to the Society, shall be a Director for life." 



APPENDIX. 



255 



seeds of distrust in the Managers at Washington had been sown 
at the time of the previous organization in 1834, and had been 
ripening in a soil favorable to their development, from that period 
up to December 1838. Two or three prominent facts I shall here 
state : "^ 

The separation of the writer from the Society has been effected 
by the propagation of the ideas that the institution had by mis- 
management been brought to the verge of ruin, and thatthe present 
Chairman of the Committee, if allowed the Direction, would repair 
the injuries of its dilapidated condition. The following is extracted 
from a circular issued by the Chairman of the Executive Com- 
mittee, dated February 13th, 1839 : 

" The Society was re-organized in December last. I accepted 
from the new Board the general agency of the management of the 
finances of the Society, under the advisement of the Executive 
Committee, of which I am Chairman. I did so without compen- 
sation, hoping soon to see the debt reduced, and new life infused 
into all the operations of the Society. I regret to say that I find 
the whole business much more deranged and in a worse condition 
than I had been led to anticipate. While there is an increasing 
desire among the friends of Colonization to aid in fowarding the 
objects of the Society, there is a general unwillingness to contri- 
bute to the payment of old debts, which are believed to have been 
improvidently made. Both State and county Societies refused 
last fall to pay to the American Colonization Society their funds, 
unless to be applied to specific objects, and to recommence the 
legitimate operations of the Society, which had been totally aban- 
doned for more than a year. With these facts before them, the 
Executive Committee had to pass a resolution appropriating all 
future collections to meeting the future engagements of the Board. 
This measure was forced upon us, it was found impossible to raise 
money, unless the Society could recommence operations. This 
has been done, not by the money of the Society, they had not 
enough in the Treasury to pay the salaries due to the officers. 
The Executive Committee gave their own private responsiblity 
for about $800, and I gave mine to a greater amount. Not a cent 
could be purchased on the credit of the Society. 

" We hope by great efforts to increase the receipts of the Soci- 
ety so as cover our engagements, and carry on the necessary ope- 
rations of the Society. To do this will be doing much. We can- 
not hope that anything will remain applicable to old debts. Nor 



256 MISSION. 

can the creditors complain, for had we refused to assume the re- 
sponsibility referred to, neither emigrants nor stores for the Colony 
could have been sent out. In fact the Society must have become 
extinct, as you will notice the collections and donations for the 
last year, did not amount to the salaries of the officers, and the 
expenses of their offices." 

At the re-organization' of the Society in January, 1834, the fol- 
lowing resolution was adopted : 

"Resolved, That the Board of Managers be directed to lay be- 
fore the public, through the African Repository, a full and detailed 
statement of the origin, rise, and present condition of the Soci- 
ety's debt, having particular reference to the causes and manner 
of its rise and increase ; the times at which it has been incurred ; 
the individuals to whom it was originally, and is now due ; and 
for what, in every case, together with every circumstance, within 
the reach of their inquiries, here and in Africa^ which can throw 
any light on this subject." 

At a meeting of the Board of Managers, on the 20th of Februa- 
ry, 1824, "Walter Lowrie, Esq., from the Committee to which the 
subject had been referred, made a report which was unanimously 
adopted. We give the following extracts : 

" In the result of their examination, which they now lay before 
the public, the Managers explicitly state that they have no con- 
cealments. In regard to the facts which are here embodied, they 
pledge themselves that the statement contains the truth and the 
whole truth. In the discharge of the high trust committed to 
them, the Managers could at no time have any interest exclusive- 
ly personal. Some of their number are at present in the Board 
for the first time, and some have been for years engaged in the 
direction of its affiiirs. Some of their former associates, men dis- 
tinguished for every thing that ennobles the human mind, are now 
no more ; but their virtues and their example will long live in the 
memory of all who knew them. In no instance has there been 
any compensation received by the Managers for their services ; 
and the time devoted to the interests of the Society does often 
interfere most seriously with their private concerns, and most 
generally it is the only time, which their professional and other 
engagements allow them, for the enjoyment of their domestic re- 
lations. They believe, with the other friends of the Society, that 
the importance of the trusts committed to them calls for sacrifices 
on their part ; but having assumed these duties, they admit their 



APPENDIX. 257 

full responsibility to the public for the manner in which they have 
been, or shall be discharged. In assuming this responsibility, 
they can have no object but the promotion of the best interest of 
the institution. If, therefore, any mistakes or errors have been 
made, they are most anxious that these mistakes or errors should 
be corrected, by any light which experience or additional infor- 
mation may afford ; and if any shall occur in future, they will at 
all times be ready to apply the proper correction." 

" From the year 1820, the receipts and expenditures, and the 
number of emigrants, in each year, have been as follows : 



YEAES. 


RECEIPTS. 


EXPENDITURES. 


EMIGRANTS, 


1820-2 


*^5,627 66 


#3,785 79 ^ 




1823 


4,798 02 


6,766 17 ( 


390 


1824 


4,379 89 


3,851 42 ( 


1825 


10,125 85 


7,543 88 ) 




1826 


14,779 24 


17,316 94 ) 




1827 


13,294 94 


13,901 74 f 


781 


1828 


13,458 17 


17,077 12 ( 


1S29 


19,795 61 


18,487 34 ) 




1830 


26,583 51 


17,637 32 


253 


1831 


27,999 15 


28,068 15 


441 


1832 


40,365 OS 


51,644 22 


790 


1833 


37,242 46 


35,637 54 


108 



" It is not deemed important, in this communication, to give in 
detail all the distinct objects of expenditure ; but it is necessary 

to a clear and satisfactory exposition, that the leading items of 
expense should be specifically stated. 

" In the United States these have consisted of — 

Salary of the Secretary, . . . . ^'1,250 

Assistant Secretary, (for last year,) - - - 1,000 

Treasurer and Clerk, - ... - 750 

Postage of letters, - . , . - 150 

Office rent, ....-- 200 

Printing and stationery, (average,) - - - 1,890 

Agents in different States, - . . - 1,356 

Fuel and other contingencies, - - - - 120 

$6,716 



IN LIBERIA, 

Colonial Agent, .... f 2,400 

Paid by the United States Government, - 1,600 

Amount carried over, - - ^SOO 

* The amount in 1822 was $778. 

22* 



258 MISSION. 



Amount brought forward, . _ . 

Colonial Physician, - - - - - 1,500 

Secretary, ...... 600 

All other salaried officers, .... 4,220 



$7,120 



"The Agent and physicians receive also subsistence from the 
colonial stores. 

"This may be called the expense of the civil list, in the ad- 
ministration of the colony, in the United States and in Liberia. 

" Here it may be proper to remark, that most of these colonial 
salaries were not created by the Board, and whatever may have 
been the necessity heretofore, when the colony was in an infant 
state, the Managers now consider most of the salary officers in 
the colony to be unnecessary. The measures which they have 
adopted on this branch of the subject, will be found in another 
part of this communication. 

" The expenditures in the United States, besides those for the 
civil list, have been, for collecting emigrants for their embarka- 
tion — for subsistence till their arrival — for provisions, subsis- 
tence and colonial stores, sent from the United States for their 
support for six months after their arrival in Liberia — for charter 
of vessels, freight and transportation — for medicines, surgical in- 
struments, arms, warlike stores and armed vessels ; and, also, for 
the maintenance of three medical students. 

" The expenditures of the colony, besides those for the civil 
list, have been, for the support of public schools ; for buildings ; 
presents to native kings ; fortifications ; purchase of territory ; 
expense of court-house and jail ; opening roads, and the founding 
of new settlements. 

"It was at all times the desire of the Board, that all the ex- 
penses at the colony should be paid by the Agent, either from the 
sale of articles from the colonial stores, or by cash in his hand. 
The ruinous practice of purchasing provisions from the merchants 
in Liberia on credit, and paying for them from time to time, by 
drafts on the Board, was never for one moment contemplated, ex- 
cept in cases of peculiar and rare contingency ; and yet, owing to 
adverse circumstances of the last two years, this very practice 
has been the principal cause of the present embarrassment in the 
finances of the Society. 
" It will be seen that the number of emigrants sent out during 



APPENDIX. 259 

the years 1830, '31 '32, and '33, was 1,598 ; and, to meet their 
expenses at the colony, it appears from the Society's books, 
supplies were furnished and sent out amounting to $40,946 63. 
In addition to this amount, the drafts on the Board have been 
$32,939 15, making the entire charge on the funds of the insti- 
tution, $73,885 78, for these four years, exclusive of the civil list 
in the United States, support of medical students, collecting emi- 
grants, charter of vessels, freight, and transportation. 

" The sum of $40,946 63, vested as it was in colonial store 
and provisions, was deemed sufficient for all the expenses of the 
colony. The highest estimate made by the colonial Agent, was at 
alltimas less than twenty dollars for the support of each emigrant 
after his arrival. Estimating that sum for each, the 1,598 emi- 
grants would require for their support $31,960, leaving a balance 
of $3,986 63 for the civil list and other expenditures at the colo- 
ny. This balance was in colonial stores, and worth, in Liberia, 
at least $12,000. This sum was evidently too small for the pa)'- 
ment of the civil list in the colony for four years, and for the other 
expenditures, for objects of a permanent character. The purchase 
of additional territory, the founding the colony at Grand Bassa, 
and the purchase of the agency house from the United States, 
were objects of a permanent nature ; and, taken together, tended 
much to increase the debt against the Society. As a matter of 
course, drafts from the colony, to some extent, were necessary to 
meet this deficit. In the purchase of the supplies sent to the 
colony, the Board had incurred a debt in the United States of 
$11,708 97. 

" In thus extending the operations of the Society, in advance of 
their means, the Board, it is believed, fell into an error. But it 
arose, in a great measure, from the want of full and precise infor- 
mation. Additional light would have prevented the outfit of so 
many expeditions in 1832, The object of the Board was un- 
doubtedly praiseworthy ; their accounts from the colony, through- 
out 1832, were most encouraging. Emigrants offered themselves, 
and liberated slaves were offered, in greater numbers than the 
means of the Board would enable them to send to the colony. 
Many friends of the cause urged the Board to give more vigor to 
their operations ; and expressed the opinion that the public libe- 
rality would sustain them in their efforts to increase the numbers 
of the colony. This desire to extend and enlarge the beneficial 
operations of the Society, to the number who were waiting and 



260 MISSION. 

anxious to go to Liberia, induced the Board to incur responsibili- 
ties, both in the United States and at the colony, which, in the 
most favorable circumstances, would have left a heavy balance 
against them." 

"In regard to the funds of the Society, it is the duty of the 
Board to be explicit, and to state clearly their future course. It 
is their intention, as it is clearly their duty, as fast as their ability 
will permit, to liquidate all their debts, by the application of every 
sum, above what may be necessary to keep the colony from going 
backwards. The colony must be sustained by all necessary sup- 
plies ; the cause of education, and the cause of agriculture there, 
cannot, will not, be neglected." 

The writer feels well prepared to show that the affairs of the 
American Colonization Society were never more efficiently or 
judiciously managed, on the whole, than from the period of 1822 
to 1834, during which time 2768 emigrants were sent out, and the 
annual income of the Society rose from .^'788, (the amount re- 
ceived in the year 1822, when the writer was first appointed agent, ) 
to rising of $40,000. During that time, (in 1824,) he (the writer,) 
visited Liberia, established, in conjunction with the excellent Mr. 
Ashmun, the Government of the colony, reported in favor of the 
appointment of that gentleman to the colonial agency, which, in 
connection with the manifest benefits of the system of Govern- 
ment as administered by that lamented man, secured for six years 
his invaluable services ; commenced and edited the African Re- 
pository; conducted the entire correspondence of the Society, (after 
the death of Mr. Caldwell, in 1825,) and executed most of the acts 
and resolutions of the Managers. The report just quoted, shows 
that, during the years 1830, '31, '32, and '33, 1598 emigrants were 
sent to Africa, and supplies, to the value of $40,946 63. 

How stand the facts in regard to the four subsequent years, viz: 
from January, 1834, to January, 1838, from the first re-organization 
up to the second, when the present Directors were entrusted with 
control? From the letter already quoted, of the Chairman of the 
Executive Committee, and from the general tone, and many in- 
sinuations in the last two reports of that Committee, it would 
naturally be inferred that all colonization operations had been sus- 
pended, but that under the new direction, the cause was coming 
up as from the tomb, to shine forth in new beauty and life and 
power. 

A comparison between the receipts of the Parent Colonization 



APPENDIX. 261 

Society during any one of the four years (and especially the last,) 
next preceding the recent organization, and that succeeding it, 
affords no means of deciding upon the comparative prosperity of 
the cause in those years, because, during these preceding years, 
large sums were expended on the colonization scheme, which nerer 
came into the treasury of the Parent Society ; while, during the last, 
the case was otherwise. When we know that during the four 
years, $52,625 48, were raised by the New York Society, of which 
a very small portion only came into the treasury of the Parent 
Society ; that the Pennsylvania Society expended large amounts 
(f 19,000 being acknowledged in a single year,) on the settlements 
at Bassa Cove, and Mississippi and Louisiana probably not less 
than 15 or $20,000,* in founding the settlement at the mouth of 
the Sinou river ; the only just comparison which can be instituted 
is between the aggregate amount annually expended, before the 
present organization, by the Parent and these other Societies ; and 
that since expended in a like period by the Parent Society, since 
the income of all has gone into its treasury. We will then put 
down for the New York Society, (during the four years 

alluded to) - - - - - - $40,000 

For the Pennsylvania Society, - - - 30,000 

For the Louisiana and Mississippi, - - - 15,000 



Total, 85,000 

Amount of receipts of Parent Society, - - 167,234 



4 ) 252,234 



Making during this period an average annual receipt of $63,058 
Whereas, the annual average receipt since the new organization, 
has been $57,076 04. Some items, it is true, in the estimated 
receipts of the Parent Society during these four years, were not 
subscriptions and donations ; and it is equally true, that the 
$11,074 33, by which the annual income the last year was stated 
to have exceeded that of any former year, was not made up of 
such receipts. 

In regard to emigration during the four years of which we speak, 
represented as years of such decline and disaster, the public should 
know, that it exceeded the ratio of that which has occurred during 

* Probably much more, 



262 MISSION. 

the two years of the recent organization, the number sent out by 
the Parent, New York, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Louisiana 
Societies, having fallen little, if an)', short of 600,* while the 
number sent out since the new organization, I am informed at the 
office, is about 260. 

Again of the debt ; this was estimated in February, 1828, by 
the present Chairman of the Committee, at - - $51,059 

An arrangement was made for settling with the creditors, by pay- 
ing one half provided they discharged the Society from all further 
legal obligation, thus reducing the debt to - - $'25,529 

On this amount, the Committee, in their report of January, 1840, 
state there had, during the year, been paid - $6,233 21 

Leaving still due, . - . - 19,295 75 

And, say tiie Directors, " There is little doubt of discharging the 
heavy debts which have so long encumbered the Society, during 
the present year." 

Yet, in the report of January last, we read the following state- 
ment : " Old creditors have received, - - $6,757 42 
Leaving the balance due, _ . - $16,500 00 
which it is hoped the means of the Society will be able to dis- 
charge in the course of the year." 

We must leave the able financiers of the Committee to show 
how a payment of $14,990 63, on a debt of $25,529, will still 
leave due $16,500. 

But, as we have stated, though we have abundant cause to 
expose and correct numerous errors in the last two reports of the 
Society, and, especially, to repel insinuations, which are often 
more injurious than bold charges, we shall leave the subject with 
two remarks : 

First. That, "if the difficulties (as stated by the Committee in 
their last report,) experienced in obtaining correct reports of the 
disbursements and expenses in the colony, no longer exist ;" and 
if, as quoted, from the Rev. Mr. Pinney, at tliat time the Society's 
agent in Liberia, under date May 15th, 1834, " From the loose 
manner in which the accounts have been kept at the Colony, 
it has been impossible to ascertain, with precision, in what manner 
the goods have been disposed of, or how the heavy debts incurred 

*579, with those which embarked in the Orion, probably not less than 40; 
though I am unable to find the exact number, in this vessel, stated. 



APPENDIX, 263 

there, were contracted,* it is to be attributed solely to the good 
fortune of the Society in securing as Governor, one, both disposed 
and able to execute the instructions of the Society, Second, that 
if any new method and harmony, and energy attend the present 
operations in behalf of Colonization, it is not to be sought particu- 
lary in the otficial direction in Washington, but in the disposition 
of sundry State Societies to abandon their plans of separate 
action, and co-operate by their funds and exertions in the measures 
of the General Society. 

The following paragraph apeared in the Christian Statesman in 
May, 1838, and the writer has found no cause to change the opi- 
nions therein expressed : 

'"In the years 1832 and '33, the Parent Society, (censured as it 
has been by friends whose zeal was little tempered by prudence, 
for excessive caution, and reproached for inactivity, when the whole 
country was waiting, as it was said, to assist them by generous con- 
tributions) sent more emigrants to Liberia than have been sent in 
the four years since, by all auxiliary societies, if not more than the 
total number since removed to Africa. It adopted this course in 
compliance with the importunities of friends, and in conlidence, that 
these friends and the public would sustain them. Its expenditures 
were a few thousand dollars beyond its means, and a debt still 
greater, incurred without the knowledge of the Managers in Liberia, 
added to its heavy responsibilities. What, in this time of diffi- 
culty and discouragement, when the enemies of the Society re- 
joiced, audits defenders were faint-hearted, was the conduct of those 
whose only complaint of the Managers of the Instittition, to that 
hour had been, "you are too timid, prudent, calculating, confide 
too little in the benevolence of the country !" A sudden change 
came over them ; they saw new lights ; things had been misman- 
aged ; they magnified the difficulties ; they talked loudly of the 
imprudence ; they whispered their want of confidence in the 
wisdom and energy of the Society. Separate State action, not 
independent, only partially separate — still auxiliary, could alone, 
in their view, save the cause. They were still the devoted friends 
of the Parent Society. Their plan would add greatly to its resour- 
ces, and must increase its strength. They destroyed public confi- 

* I must uot here be understood as expressing any opinion adverse to the Mary- 
land State Colonization Society. That Society isgenerously sustained by the Le- 
gislature of the State, and its affairs have been conducted with much ability and 



264 MISSION. 

dence to a great extent, in the general Society, and then turned 
the effects of their conduct into an argument to be kindly urged 
with the Society, why it should yield to their designs. They in- 
sisted that their policy alone would meet the approbation of the 
people they represented ; that it was the only practicable mode by 
which the Parent Society could obtain relief, and that it would 
give a powerful impulse to the cause. The Managers of the 
Parent Society made the desired concessions, while several of them 
earnestly contended that the policy was unwise in principle, though 
it might be expedient from circumstances. 

" We have never doubted that it had been far better for the 
cause, had its friends remained, as at the origin of the Society — 
united. Certainly, the benefits promised from their plan by the 
advocates of separate action of the Parent Society, have not been 
realized. But whether this opinion be correct or not, it must 
require other reasons than any we have seen adduced, to prove that 
a smaller amount of funds had been raised, or less good been effect- 
ed in this country and in Africa, had the friends of the Parent 
institution, (when they found it embarrassed by efforts, put forth 
by a generous desire to meet their own wishes, and satisfy every 
reasonable expectation of the public) stood firmly by it, and nobly 
exerted themselves for its relief, than has been realized by the new 
policy then first invented and proposed, of the separate operations 
of Auxiliary Societies." 

APPENDIX B. 

The New York Colonization Society advanced £ 100, or $485 00 

E. Coates, Esq., Philadelphia, 150 00 

E. C.Delavan,* Esq., Albany, Nev^r York, - - 100 00 

Hon. Thos. W. Williams, New London, Conn., - - 50 00 
A. M'Intyre, Albany, New York, - - - - 25 00 



Total, $810 00 



Expenses, including outfit, passages both ways, rooms, board, 
visit to Scotland, postage, printing, &c., during eleven months of 
absence, f 1,090. 

It is but just to Mr. Delavanto state, that in advancing this sum, his expectation 
■vvas that I should be present at the World's Convention, and derive benefit from 
its proceedings. 



ERRATA. 

Pagje 255, 6th liaa from tha bottom, for $S00, read ^3,000, 
Page 256, 19th line from the top, for 1S24, read 1834. 
Page 262, 6th line from the cop, for 1S23, read 133S. 



